Democrats have earned a reputation for being soft on crime and lax on immigration. When the two intersect, it’s a weak-will buffet.

The House passed a bill Thursday strengthening laws to prevent noncitizens convicted of driving under the influence from immigrating to the U.S. — or to deport them.

As The Hill reported, the bill passed with a 274-150 vote, with 59 Democrats joining all 215 Republicans in backing the legislation.

That’s 150 Democrats voting against deporting noncitizens with DUIs, or preventing them from staying in the country. Our Massachusetts representatives voted thusly: Jake Auchincloss, Katherine Clark, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Richard Neal, Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan voted nay. Two yes votes came from Bill Keating and Stephen Lynch.

DUIs are already grounds for deportation in some cases, and it’s by those seeking to gain residency here that such a conviction can hinder the process of adjusting their status.

But the bill passed by the House targets conflicts between state and federal law that sometimes allow past DUI convictions to not be considered in an immigration case. And it also makes all misdemeanor DUI offenses a grounds both for deportation and making someone inadmissible for adjusting their status.

In other words, it gets tough on those who enter the country and break the law.

This scenario played out tragically for Maureen Maloney, a Milford mother whose 23-year-old son was struck, dragged and killed by an undocumented drunk driver. In 2022, as chairwoman of the Fair and Secure Massachusetts committee, she pushed to repeal the state law that grants driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants here.

Driving under the influence is no joke.

“With the seriousness of the crime and the potential deadly consequences, you would think that if an illegal immigrant was caught driving under the influence, they would be deported and barred from reentering the country – unfortunately, however, that is not always the case,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote in a Thursday note previewing the bill.

You would think that political leaders on both sides of the aisle would recognize the seriousness of the crime and act accordingly.

But if many Democrats don’t view DUIs as a reason for deporting noncitizens, surely assaulting a police officer would qualify as an automatic exit?  Perhaps not.

While Republican pols rally to demand that the migrants caught on camera attacking on two NYPD officers in Times Square get deported, Gov. Kathy Hochul said it’s something that should certainly be “looked at.”

“I mean, if someone commits a crime against a police officer in the state of New York and they’re not here legally, it’s definitely worth checking into,” she said.

New York City is a sanctuary city, and turning over immigrants who’ve committed crimes to ICE is a no-go.  “That law that’s prohibiting cooperation between NYPD and federal immigration enforcement — it just has to stop,” US Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who represents Staten Island, told The New York Post.

“Republicans, Independents, Democrats should at least be able to agree that if you’re in this city, and you’re committing a crime, you have given up any opportunity to ever become a part of this citizenry, period,” Malliotakis added.

After Thursday’s vote, we wouldn’t bet on it.

Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel (Creators Syjndicate)