The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Laken Riley Act” on Thursday, a bill that would require federal officials to arrest illegal immigrants who have been charged with theft in the United States.
By a vote of 251-170, the House approved the bill that is named after Laken Riley, the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was brutally murdered allegedly by an illegal immigrant while she was out for a run last month. All voting Republicans and 37 Democrats helped pass the bill while 170 Democrats voted against it.
“170 House Democrats just voted against the Laken Riley Act, refusing to require the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants who have been caught committing a crime,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) posted to X. “Sadly, if these Democrats have their way, there will be more victims like Laken Riley.”
In particular, the “Laken Riley Act” would “require the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens who have been charged in the United States with theft, and for other purposes.”
“IT’S OFFICIAL: The Laken Riley Act has passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis. 37 Democrats joined all Republicans in support of this bill and condemning Joe Biden’s handling of our southern border!” said Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who introduced the legislation. “I now urge the Senate to take up this bill immediately. Please help us ensure justice for Laken and give ICE more tools to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens before they commit more serious crimes.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) suggested to Fox News that most Democrats opposed the legislation over concerns about the “rights” of illegal immigrants who are taken into custody. “To have someone detained without that due process, I think is un-American,” he said.
Riley’s suspected murderer, 26-year-old Venezuelan Jose Ibarra, was reportedly let go after being detained at the southern border due to a lack of space at the detention center. He was then arrested in New York in August 2023 after he was caught driving an unregistered car with a 5-year-old inside. According to a police report, a few months later, Ibarra and his brother Diego allegedly stole food and clothing from a Walmart in Athens, Georgia. They were both given a citation for misdemeanor shoplifting and let go.
The “Laken Riley Act” would also give the attorney general of a state or another authorized state officer standing to bring an action against the U.S. attorney general or secretary of Homeland Security “alleging an action or decision by the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security under this section to release any alien or grant bond or parole to any alien that harms such State or its residents …”
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The bill, H.R. 7511, states, “The Biden administration should not have released Laken Riley’s alleged murderer into the United States; The Biden administration should have arrested and detained Laken Riley’s alleged murderer after he was charged with crimes in New York, New York, and Athens, Georgia; President Biden should publicly denounce his administration’s immigration policies that resulted in the murder of Laken Riley; and President Biden should prevent another murder like that of Laken Riley by ending the catch-and-release of illegal aliens, increasing immigration enforcement, detaining and removing criminal aliens, reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy, ending his abuse of parole authority, and securing the United States borders.”
Hank Berrien contributed to this report.