Sponsors (24)
The bill tightens immigration penalties for DUI/DWI to potentially improve public safety and close legal loopholes, but it risks deporting low-risk individuals, deterring crash reporting, increasing government costs, and producing unequal outcomes across jurisdictions.
Noncitizens convicted of DUI/DWI can be denied entry or removed, which may reduce repeat impaired-driving incidents and improve public safety for communities.
The bill defines offenses according to the local law where they occurred, aiming to close loopholes from classification differences and create a consistent legal trigger for immigration consequences across jurisdictions.
Noncitizens with a single misdemeanor DUI conviction could be barred from admission or deported, which can disrupt families, remove workers, and harm middle-class immigrant households even when public-safety risk is low.
The threat of immigration consequences may deter noncitizens from reporting crashes, seeking medical help, or cooperating with police, which could worsen road safety and reduce effective law enforcement.
Implementing and enforcing expanded removal/admission rules will increase workloads for DHS and immigration courts, raising government costs and potentially worsening immigration case backlogs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds convictions or admissions for driving while intoxicated/impaired as grounds to deny admission and to deport noncitizens, regardless of misdemeanor or felony label.
Makes driving while intoxicated or impaired a formal immigration offense: any noncitizen convicted of, or who admits to acts that constitute, DWI/DUI as defined by the place where it happened can be denied entry to the United States and can be placed in removal (deportation) proceedings. The change applies whether the underlying state or local offense was labeled a misdemeanor or a felony. The text defines DWI/DUI by the criminal definition used in the jurisdiction where the act occurred, does not create new funding or express exceptions or waivers, and would increase the use of inadmissibility and deportability grounds against immigrants with such convictions or admissions on their records.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by Barry Moore · Last progress June 27, 2025