Representing North Carolina’s Ninth District                                                                        

MYRICK’S SCOTT GARDNER ACT AMENDMENT PASSES US HOUSE BY VOICE VOTE

(Washington, D.C.) – Tonight, the US House of Representatives passed Rep. Sue Myrick’s (NC-9) illegal immigration amendment to the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (HR 4437).  Rep. Myrick’s amendment was based on her bill, The Scott Gardner Act.  Scott Gardner was a high school teacher from Gaston County who was killed by an illegal alien who was driving drunk.

 Rep. Myrick’s amendment states that any illegal alien convicted of a DWI will face automatic deportation.  It also requires information on illegal alien drunk drivers be placed into the National Criminal Information Center. 

 The amendment passed the House with no objections and was adopted by voice vote.  Both Representative Mike McIntyre (D-NC) and Representative John Spratt (D-SC) spoke on the House Floor in full support of this amendment.  It is now included in HR 4437, which will be voted on later tonight. 

Below is a transcript of Rep. Myrick’s Floor Speech on her Amendment:

“Mr. Speaker, I’d like to thank Chairmen Sensenbrenner and King for their hard work in bringing this bill to the floor.

My amendment today is a common sense enhancement to a strong underlying bill.

On Saturday, July 16, Scott Gardner, a beloved school teacher in my district, was killed by an illegal alien who was driving drunk.

After the wreck, it was discovered that the illegal alien already had FIVE prior drunk driving convictions, yet was still on OUR roads and was still in OUR country.

He should never have been allowed to stay in our country after his drunk driving arrests.

Unfortunately, tragedies like this are happening all over the country.

That’s why my amendment is so vitally important.

Currently, this bill says that all aliens must be deported after their THIRD DWI conviction. 

My amendment requires the automatic deportation of an illegal alien after their FIRST DWI conviction because it only takes one DWI to kill someone.  Just ask Scott Gardner’s family.

Please note that this does not apply to legal immigrants. Only illegal aliens.

My amendment will also give specially trained State and local law enforcement officers the authority to detain drunk driving illegal aliens so they can’t run from their court dates and be free to drink and drive again- as is currently the case.

The amendment also allows these same officers to transport illegal aliens into federal custody so they can be deported, and they will be reimbursed by the Department of Homeland Security for doing so.

Information on the illegal alien drunk drivers will be reported to the Department of Homeland Security, the National Criminal Information Center and the Drivers License Agreement of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

The authorities and information collection will give us another tool to use against criminal illegal aliens who continue to break our laws and threaten our safety.

By passing this amendment today, we will be sending a strong message that we will no longer tolerate criminal illegal aliens. 

You drink. You drive. You’re illegal. You’re deported.  Period.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.” 

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