On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a measure which would make three DUI convictions an aggravated felony, and a deportable offense. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced the legislative action as an amendment to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011 (S. 1925).
Sen. Grassley’s original amendment called for the policy to be applied retroactively to all DUIs. Expressing the urgency for such a policy, Grassley cited the case of Sister Denise Mosier who was killed by Carlos A. Martinelly Montano, a drunk driving illegal alien in Virginia in 2010. It was Martinelly Montano’s third DUI in five years. http://www.examiner.com/immigration-reform-in-national/illegal-alien-convicted-of-murdering-nun-virginia
However, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) objected to the retroactive portion of the amendment , saying it "goes against the sense of overall fairness" and instead, offered his own amendment which removed the retroactive clause. The Committee then passed the measure by a vote of 11-7.
It now moves to the full Senate.
So, what does this mean?
Effectively, if the bill passes and is signed into law, the federal government will only consider an illegal alien DUI offender for deportation, after he/she has accrued three convictions.
That’s three convictions recorded after the bill becomes law.
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