On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) announced the U.S. House of Representatives passed his bill H.R. 6976 by a vote of 274-150. Fifty-nine Democrats joined the Republican caucus to support the bill. The legislation will now go to the Senate and, if passed there, to the President's desk.
In a statement, Moore said this legislation forces President Joe Biden to deport illegal immigrants who have been convicted or committed the offense of driving while drunk or impaired.
"Every 45 minutes. That's how often someone in the United States dies in a crash involving an alcohol-impaired driver," Moore said. "In 2021 alone, there were 13,384 alcohol-related driving fatalities. In the same year, drunk driving crashes led to nearly 400,000 injuries and deaths. Those crashes don't discriminate — it could be me, it could be you, or it could be one of our family members."
He concluded, "This issue hits close to home for me. There was a newlywed couple from my hometown of Enterprise, Alabama, named Angel and Jeremy Seay. I knew them personally. Angel and Jeremy were riding their motorcycle together when an illegal immigrant under the influence of alcohol collided into them with his pickup. Their lives were cut dramatically short. Sadly, tragedies like this are not uncommon across our country."
Moore's bill passed through the House rapidly, being introduced on January 11. It was then assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, of which Moore is a member, and passed on a party-line vote from there on January 28.
All of Alabama's Republican House delegation supported the bill, and although it did receive 59 Democrat votes on the floor, Alabama's lone Democrat in the House, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham), opposed the bill.
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