[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5170-S5171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. Ernst, Mr. Lee, Mr. Wicker, 
        Mr. Vitter, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Moran, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Inhofe, and 
        Mr. Sessions):
  S. 3276. A bill to make habitual drunk drivers inadmissible and 
removable and to require the detention of any alien who is unlawfully 
present in the United States and has been charged with driving under 
the influence or driving while intoxicated; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the Obama administration is putting 
Americans into harm's way by releasing drunk drivers who are in the 
country illegally back onto our streets. This is unbelievable when you 
consider that every two minutes, a person is injured by a drunk driver, 
and every day in America, 27 people die as a result of a drunk driving 
crash. These numbers translate into real people.
  I would like to talk about my constituent, Sarah Root, who was killed 
by a drunk driver the day she graduated from college. On January 31, 
2016, Eswin Mejia, a Honduran national in the United States illegally, 
was drag racing in Omaha, NE, with a blood alcohol level more than 
three times the legal limit. He struck 21-year-old Sarah Root's vehicle 
from behind and she was killed. Mejia was charged with felony motor 
vehicle homicide. Although state authorities reportedly contacted ICE 
several times and requested the agency take custody of him prior to his 
release from state custody, ICE refused. He was released on bond and is 
now a fugitive from justice.
  In Kentucky, Chelsea Hogue and Meghan Lake were seriously injured by 
a drunk driver in the country illegally who had been previously 
deported five times in one week. On February 7, 2016,

[[Page S5171]]

Jose Munoz Aguilar was arrested for drunk driving and colliding with a 
car occupied by the two young women, causing injuries to both women and 
putting one in a coma. Although Jose Aguilar was transferred to ICE 
custody, he was promptly released because he didn't meet the Obama 
administration's enforcement priorities. He remains at large.
  In May, three people from a Texas family were killed by a suspected 
drunk driver who had an outstanding warrant for a previous drunk 
driving conviction. He had three prior DWI offenses. One of the three 
family members--18 year old Mauricio Ramirez--was scheduled to graduate 
from high school just a few short weeks later.
  In Houston this May, an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk and 
evading authorities injured a high school senior and killed a young 
girl who were on their way home from prom. The driver had been 
previously deported and attempted to run from the scene.
  On February 24, 2016, Esmid Valentine Pedraza was arrested in San 
Francisco, California, for the murder of Stacey Aguilar. Prior to 
allegedly committing the murder, Pedraza was reportedly arrested by ICE 
and placed in removal proceedings in August 2013 after Pedraza's 
conviction for DUI in Alameda County, California. Although ICE could 
have continued to detain him, ICE released him back onto the streets 
after he posted bond.
  Mesa, AZ Police Department Sergeant Brandon Mendoza lost his life to 
an illegal immigrant who was driving the wrong way down a one-way 
street. The driver was three times over the legal limit and high on 
meth when he struck Sgt. Mendoza head on. Sgt. Mendoza had just 
finished his shift of keeping citizens and his community safe.
  Police Officer Kevin Will of Houston, TX, was struck and killed by a 
drunk driver as he investigated a hit-and-run accident. The driver was 
in the country illegally.
  In Phoenix, Police Officer Daryl Raetz was killed by a man who 
admitted to being drunk and high, and was in the country illegally. 
Officer Raetz was an Iraq war veteran and had been a police officer for 
6 years. He left behind a wife and daughter.
  Nobody argues that drunk driving is not a public safety risk, so it 
is remarkable that the Obama administration's own immigration 
enforcement priorities fail to take perpetrators off the street. 
Families coping with the grief of losing a loved one to such a 
senseless crime must also live with the reality that their government 
is quick to release offenders back into our communities.
  Today, along with several other Senators, I am introducing the Taking 
Action Against Drunk Drivers Act. Our bill would ensure that federal 
immigration authorities take custody and hold anyone in the country 
illegally who has been charged with driving under the influence, DUI, 
or driving while intoxicated, DWI, taking them off the streets and 
protecting the public.
  Additionally, my bill would make immigrants with three DUI or DWI 
convictions inadmissible to and removable from the country. Finally, it 
would make three DUI or DWI convictions an aggravated felony under the 
Immigration and Nationality Act. This will allow for expedited removal 
and preclude eligibility for certain benefits and permanently bar legal 
admission into the country.
  We cannot let this current system that promotes the reckless death of 
innocent Americans continue. I encourage my colleagues to join me in an 
effort to protect our citizens from these dangerous people.
                                 ______