Pappas, Goodlander Reject Bipartisan Bill Deporting Drunk Driving Illegals

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

When House Republicans brought legislation to the floor last week making illegal aliens guilty of driving under the influence immediately deportable, 37 Democrats crossed the aisle to vote yes.

New Hampshire’s Reps. Maggie Goodlander and Chris Pappas were not among them.

The Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act of 2025 (H.R. 875) passed the House in a 246-160 vote. The law is named after Americans killed by illegal aliens driving drunk.

Jeremy and Angel Seay were newlyweds when they were killed by a drunk driving illegal alien in Enterprise, Ala.

In the case of Sergeant Brandon Mendoza, a 32-year-old Hispanic police officer with the Mesa, Arizona Police Department, the illegal alien who killed him in 2014 had been in and out of court since 1994. The illegal alien had a blood-alcohol content of 0.24 percent (three times the legal limit) and was high on methamphetamine when he killed Mendoza. He also didn’t have a valid drivers license.

If the killer had been deported after his first encounter with law enforcement, Mendoza would be alive today, his family members say.

The law that bears these victims’ names is straightforward:

“Any alien who has been convicted of an offense for driving while intoxicated or impaired… without regard to whether the conviction is classified as a misdemeanor or felony under Federal, State, tribal, or local law, is deportable.”

Pappas is currently running for the U.S. Senate, which is where this legislation is heading next. Goodlander is a freshman member of Congress seeking her second term next year.

When asked via email why they voted no, both Goodlander and Pappas declined to respond.

Republicans like state GOP chair Jim MacEachern accused Pappas of “putting the needs of illegal immigrants over the needs of Granite Staters.

“Under Governor Ayotte, we banned sanctuary cities. Last November, voters made it clear, they want Safe communities and those who commit crimes held accountable. Chris Pappas is out of touch with New Hampshire,” MacEachern told NHJournal.

And the National Republican Senatorial Committee also called out Pappas, who’s all but certain to be the Democratic nominee next year.

“Chris Pappas is rejecting commonsense and once again putting illegal immigrants above American citizens. Pappas’ support for open borders, dangerous sanctuary cities, and criminal illegal immigrants is out-of-step with New Hampshire families who deserve safe communities,” said Nick Puglia, NRSC Regional Press Secretary.

Pappas was also spotted rushing away from a reporter asking if he supports the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani. Like many progressive Democrats, Mamdai has compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement to fascists.

Chris Bright, the one Republican who has announced his candidacy in the NH-01 GOP primary, thinks Pappas is getting the issue wrong.

“Chris Pappas’s vote shows just how extreme Washington Democrats have become, protecting illegal immigrants arrested for drunk driving instead of standing up for public safety and putting Granite Staters first,” Brighth said. “But this is the kind of agenda Stephany Shaheen proudly endorses. Her support for Pappas says a lot about the policies she’d push on New Hampshire families.”

Hollie Noveletsky, who ran in the primary two years ago and is widely expected to run again, said “Shame on Chris Pappas for opposing this bill.”

“This is commonsense! Illegal aliens are here illegally and shouldn’t be driving, let alone driving drunk. This is a public safety issue.”

Noveletsky pointed out that “the policy of deporting criminal aliens is popular with the American people and is vital to our public safety. I absolutely would have supported this legislation. The bigger question is whether or not Maura Sullivan or Stefany Shaheen support this commonsense measure to keep Americans safe.”

Polls show a majority of Americans support Trump’s efforts to deport more illegal aliens. And CNN’s Harry Enten reports that his data analysis shows support for people who came to the U.S. illegally has plunged among immigrant voters.

Five years ago, voters who immigrated to the U.S. had a net favorable view of illegal immigrants of +23 points. That number has plunged to -6 points. That’s a 29-point drop in sympathy for illegal aliens among legal immigrants.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.