It’s been 1 year since AU student Laken Riley’s murder changed politics

ATHENS, Ga. - On Feb. 22, 2024, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student went for a morning run and never returned.

But Laken Riley’s murder — and the subsequent conviction of Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan immigrant who was in the U.S. illegally — transformed the nation’s political spectrum.

Immigration became one of the cornerstones of Donald Trump’s ultimately successful quest to reclaim the White House. The subsequent Laken Riley Act was the first law ed out of the new Congress and the first law signed by the 47th U.S. president.

And decades will be needed to fully comprehend how the murder of a popular, beloved former University of Georgia student has affected the nation’s immigration policies, protocols and perceptions.

“Republicans were scrambling to cobble together some legislation to make sure something like this never happened again. Democrats were trying to figure out how to honor her memory without demonizing immigrants,” said Madeline Summerville, an Atlanta attorney and political analyst who working as a speechwriter in Georgia’s state senate at the time of Riley’s murder. “As each detail came in, it was a gut punch to both sides who were both fueled by a genuine effort to not only maintain order but also deal with the problem respectfully.”

“Americans find it easier to understand complex issues where there is an easily understandable frame that can be put around the issue,” said Dr. Ben Taylor, professor of political science at Kennesaw State University. “This crime succinctly encapsulated the issue for the Trump campaign and helped them crystallize the argument over immigration, and it was a very powerful message for potential voters to receive.”

Riley’s roommates reported her missing late in the morning. Her body was found in Oconee Forest Park near Lake Herrick. Quickly ruled a homicide, Riley’s murder was the first on the UGA campus since 1983.

Local law enforcement identified Ibarra as the prime suspect after questioning and finding a jacket with Riley’s hair in a dumpster near his apartment, which was about a mile away from where her body was found.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed Ibarra “was paroled due to detention capacity at the Central Processing Center in El Paso, TX,” and ICE officials said Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally.

Trump, then the GOP nominee for president, had long made the issue of immigration a centerpiece of his political ideology. After he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 to become the 45th president, his istration was marked by nationwide protests over what his critics called his demonization of undocumented immigrants living and working in the U.S.

“The issue of immigration is extremely complex, and President Joe Biden — and then Vice President Kamala Harris — tried to talk about the other aspects of the issue that are important,” Taylor said. “But when you have an emotionally charged event that cut through all the noise, it seemed the Democratic response was lackluster, and they were unable to find a way to deal with the very human issue that someone lost their life.”

In the summer and fall of 2024, Trump again made the nation’s southern border crossings a focal point of his campaign to win back the White House for a historic second, non-consecutive term. In an October metro Atlanta campaign rally, Trump said, “Laken was a brilliant, young student. Top of her class. Going to be a great nurse. Nursing student. Everybody ired her. She was killed viciously.”

After the November election which saw Trump defeat Harris, Ibarra was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another.

Before Trump’s election, however, Congress had already been considering a bill called the Laken Riley Act. It had been introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Georgia) but did not advance beyond the Senate. Collins reintroduced the bill on the day of Trump’s January 2025 inauguration, the first measure introduced in the new 118th Congress.

This time, the measure ed both the House and Senate in bipartisan fashion — Georgia’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, both voted for the measure.

“There are way more people in the political middle than people realize,” Summerville said. “But if you’re up for reelection (in 2026) like Ossoff is, and a big part of your base just swung to the right, he’d be risking those voters in the middle.”

Trump signed the bill on Jan. 29, 2025, the first law bearing the new president’s signature.

The Laken Riley Act aims to crack down on immigration by requiring federal officials to arrest undocumented immigrants who commit certain crimes related to theft. The law mandates those immigrants are detained until they are removed from the country. States can now also take civil action against of the federal government who do not enforce immigration laws.

Democratic staff on the Senate Appropriations Committee estimated the bill would cost $83 billion over the next three years, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. The Laken Riley Act does not include any new funding for immigration officials.

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