Many foreigners, including several Green card holders in the US, are at risk of deportation if convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) offence.
The US House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow for the immediate deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). Foreigners, including Green card holders, convicted of a DUI, even if classified as a misdemeanor, could face detention and removal.
Green card holders are lawful permanent residents of the US and have legal rights to stay and work in America. Nearly 13 million green card holders are in the United States, with 9 million of them eligible to become citizens.
What the Bill Says
The bill says, “Any foreigner who has been convicted of an offense for driving while intoxicated or impaired, as those terms are defined under the law of the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred including a conviction for driving while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol or drugs, without regard to whether the conviction is classified as a misdemeanor or felony under Federal, State, tribal, or local law, is deportable.”
There are two aspects of the Bill: Non-admission of foreigners into America convicted of DUI and deportation of such foreigners convicted of DUI.
It also codifies a new ground of removability for foreigners with driving under the influence (DUI) convictions.
Currently, as there is neither a ground of inadmissibility nor a ground of removability related to DUI, criminal foreigners can escape accountability for their reckless actions, free to re-offend and endanger communities.
The term ‘driving under the influence’ (DUI) includes all state and federal impaired-driving offenses, including ‘driving while intoxicated,’ ‘operating under the influence,’ and other offenses that make it unlawful for a person to operate a motor vehicle while impaired. This term does not include lesser included offenses, such as negligent driving, that do not require proof of impairment.
Jeremy and Angel Seay
Titled the ‘Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act of 2025’, introduced by Representative Barry Moore, would create a new ground of inadmissibility for foreigners convicted of, or admitting to, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
On June 13, 2009, Jeremy and Angel Seay of Enterprise, Alabama, were killed when Freddie DeLeon Perez, an illegal foreigner, crashed into their motorcycle. Perez pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
The bill passed the House of Representatives in June, is currently being reviewed by the Senate.