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81 Wash. U. L. Q. 591 (2003)
Drunk Driving and Deportation - Should DUI Convictions Be Treated as Crimes of Violence for INS Removal Purposes

handle is hein.journals/walq81 and id is 601 raw text is: DRUNK DRIVING AND DEPORTATION- SHOULD DUI CONVICTIONS BE TREATED AS CRIMES OF VIOLENCE FOR INS REMOVAL PURPOSES? I. INTRODUCTION Drunk driving poses serious social problems in the United States.' In an attempt to combat this problem, several circuit courts have ruled that aliens convicted of multiple drunk driving offenses should be deported while other circuits have disagreed, allowing aliens with drunk driving convictions to remain in the U.S.2 As a result of this circuit split, sentencing aliens with multiple drunk driving convictions has become unnecessarily difficult, confusing, and unfair. According to U.S. immigration law, if an alien commits an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1227,' he or she can be removed from the United States.' An aggravated felony is a crime of violence for which the term of imprisonment is at least one year.5 18 U.S.C. § 16 defines a crime of violence as: a) an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or b) any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.6 Classifying drunk driving convictions as crimes of violence for immigration purposes has serious implications for many unsuspecting 1. See David L. Marcus, Three Times and Out-Some Face Deportation for Repeat Drunken Driving, BOSTON GLOBE, Oct. 14, 1998, at Al. 2. See Dalton v. Ashcroft, 257 F.3d 200 (2d Cir. 2001); United States v. Parsons, 955 F.2d 858 (3d Cir. 1992); United States v. Chapa-Garza, 243 F.3d 921 (5th Cir. 2001); Bazan-Reyes v. INS, 256 F.3d 600 (7th Cir. 2001); Park v. INS, 252 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2001); United States v. Trinidad- Aquino, 259 F.3d 1140 (9th Cir. 2001); Tapia Garcia v. INS, 237 F.3d 1216 (10th Cir. 2001); Le v. U.S. Attorney General, 196 F.3d 1352 (11 th Cir. 1999). 3. 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) (2001). 4. Any alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission is deportable. 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) (2001). 5. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F) (2001). 6. 18 U.S.C. § 16 (2001).

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