Rep. Barry Moore has reintroduced the Protecting Our Communities from DUIs Act, aiming to make illegal immigrants convicted of impaired driving inadmissible and deportable.

The bill comes amid ongoing debates over border security and law enforcement policies under the Biden administration.

Moore criticized the administration's approach to deportations, pointing to a significant decrease in removals of non-felon illegal immigrants. He referenced President Joe Biden's past comments suggesting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should focus on felony offenders and that drunk driving should not be considered a felony for deportation purposes.

"In the United States, someone dies in a crash with an impaired driver every 45 minutes. I lost two of my young newlywed constituents to an illegal immigrant driving under the influence of alcohol, and thanks to Biden's open border policies, these tragedies are still occurring," Moore said in a news release. "I look forward to working with President Trump to protect American families from these tragedies by deporting illegal immigrants who have been caught driving impaired."

Moore said he looks forward to working with former President Donald Trump to strengthen immigration enforcement and prevent further tragedies caused by impaired drivers. The legislation has drawn support from other Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri, who called the deaths caused by intoxicated drivers a failure of "radical open border policies." Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania added that the bill is a "commonsense" measure to ensure the safety of American families and communities.

The Protecting Our Communities from DUIs Act, also known as H.R. 6976, seeks to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to classify individuals convicted of driving while intoxicated or impaired as both inadmissible and deportable. The bill specifies that the classification would apply regardless of whether the offense is considered a misdemeanor or felony under federal, state, tribal or local law.

The legislation passed the House of Representatives on Feb. 1, 2024, and now awaits further consideration in the Senate.