U.S. House overwhelmingly approves ‘Laken Riley Act’
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives ed the Laken Riley Act, legislation meant to provide more tools against crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
The bill ed overwhelmingly, 251-170, with 37 Democrats ing all Republicans in .
During debate, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who authored the bill, urged his colleagues to it and to continue fighting what he called lawlessness that he blamed on President Joe Biden’s border policies.
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Immigration bills have been a big talker in Georgia following the recent death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who was murdered on the University of Georgia campus. The suspect is living in the country illegally.
In addition to the federal law, others have been sailing through the Georgia General Assembly.
The Laken Riley Act would do three things:
- It condemns Biden’s border policies, including “catch and release,” and calls on him to reinstate “remain in Mexico.”
- It would amend federal law to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to issue detainers and take custody of illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes.
- It allows state attorneys general to sue the secretary of homeland security for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens.
Collins noted that the man accused of killing Riley had been cited for shoplifting before the slaying. Riley would be alive now if local law enforcement had called ICE, and ICE had issued a detainer and picked him up.
Jose Ibarra, 26, faces murder charges in Riley’s death. Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Ibarra illegally entered Texas from Mexico in 2022.
“The senseless murder of Laken Riley by Jose Ibarra, who had no business being in this country, was another wakeup call as Americans experience an illegal alien crime wave because of Joe Biden’s open border and local sanctuary city policies,” Congressman Collins said in a press release.
“I wish we could bring Laken back, but we must now turn our focus to ensuring this doesn’t happen to another American. That’s why I introduced the Laken Riley Act,” Collins added.
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