Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced the Laken Riley Act on Tuesday evening. This is the Senate companion to H.R. 7511, introduced by Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) in the House.
The Laken Riley Act is a measure that requires federal immigration authorities to arrest and detain illegal aliens charged with crimes such as theft or burglary, larceny, and shoplifting. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be required to arrest illegal aliens who commit crimes and make sure they are detained until they are deported. This mandate is to stop illegal aliens from being released after committing crimes only to commit more crimes, often more serious ones.
This bill also ensures that states have standing to bring civil actions against federal officials who refuse to enforce or violate immigration laws. In other words, it requires cooperation by sanctuary states.
This bill specifically names the crimes committed by illegal aliens that require arrests and detention because often those who steal are not detained but immediately released back out. Then they can commit more deadly crimes. That is what happened in the murder of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley. She was jogging in broad daylight on a popular trail on the University of Georgia campus when Jose Antonio Ibarra killed her. He is an illegal alien from Venezuela. He bashed Laken's skull with a heavy object, which has not been named, He then moved her body into the woods to hide her body. Ibarra moved to Georgia from New York where he was arrested for endangering a child. In Georgia, he was cited for shoplifting in October 2023, as was his brother. He was charged with a misdemeanor for shoplifting and was not detained. His brother is in the United States on a phony green card and he was employed. He, along with his murderer brother, is being detained now.
If illegal aliens commit crimes and are not detained to face deportation, they are empowered to act with impunity. They commit crimes and are released back into civil society without consequences. Georgia is not a sanctuary state but Athens, the city where the University of Georgia campus is located, acts as a sanctuary city.
Laken's tragic, senseless murder could have been avoided. It was preventable.
"Make no mistake, Laken Riley’s heartbreaking murder was a direct, preventable consequence of willful open border policies by President Biden and his administration. This commonsense legislation would ensure ICE detains and deports criminal illegal aliens, so more innocent American families do not have to face this kind of unimaginable tragedy," Britt told Fox News Digital.
"I am grateful for Rep. Collins’ strong leadership and for Sen. Budd’s partnership in introducing this Senate companion bill. Sen. Schumer should bring this bill to the Senate floor immediately."
"States should be able to protect their citizens from the Biden administration’s lawless, open border policies by seeking relief in federal court," Budd told Fox. "That’s why I am joining Sen. Britt to introduce the Senate version of the Laken Riley Act.
"We simply cannot tolerate any more senseless tragedies like this one. What happened to Laken Riley should never happen to any American citizen."
Rep. Collins urged the Senate to take up the legislation immediately after the House passed his bill. He said it is to "ensure justice for Laken and give ICE more tools to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens before they commit more serious crimes." He thanked Senator Britt for her leadership.
"The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly and on a bipartisan basis," Collins said. "I am grateful to Sen. Britt for taking the lead on getting this vital legislation through the Senate, so we can put Laken Riley's name on Joe Biden's desk and take a step toward preventing this from happening to another American."
A letter was written to Senate leadership on Wednesday from 26 attorneys general across the United States. They urged that the Laken Riley Act be taken up for a vote. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody led the effort.
"President Biden’s repeated actions of ignoring the rule of law and abandoning successful policies have created a border crisis of historic proportions," the letter states. "As attorneys general, we are fighting to preserve the rule of law and keep our states safe when the federal government fails to act or, in the case of illegal immigration, actively makes it worse. To that end, we applaud the bill’s enforcement provision for State Attorneys General."
"Unfortunately, the entire country has seen the news of the tragic and avoidable murder of Laken Riley. In broad daylight, Jose Ibarra is alleged to have brutally attacked and killed Riley while she was on a morning run. Reports show Riley’s skull was beaten so violently with an unidentified object that her skull was disfigured," the attorneys general wrote.
"Riley’s death could have been prevented on multiple fronts, but the system failed her," the prosecutors wrote, adding that H.R. 7511 is "a strong bill that can act as another arrow in the quiver when it comes to combatting illegal immigration and protecting Americans."
Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) was on Joy Reid's MSNBC show and she asked about the bill that passed in the House. Was it going to make a difference? Senator Warnock of Georgia said no, it's all smoke and mirrors. He has said in past interviews that Republicans are using the bill as a political stunt. He's a peach. Not to say he's racist, but, what if Laken was a black college student? Would the Laken Riley Act be smoke and mirrors?
Sen. @ReverendWarnock on his opposition to the Laken Riley Act: “This is smoke and mirrors by people who are not serious.” pic.twitter.com/K84j3WaS61
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 13, 2024
Senator Warnock is a pastor in the church that was led by Martin Luther King, Jr. He's a partisan hack. He probably doesn't want to vote for the bill because it criticizes President Biden's handling of the southern border. In particular, it encourages Biden to reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy that worked well during the Trump administration. Biden nixed that on his first day in the White House through executive order.
Democrats are fine with the open southern border. They don't have a problem with the Biden border crisis until it comes to their state. Every state is a border state now. Senator Warnock still doesn't understand the humanitarian crisis and the national security crisis caused by the Biden border crisis. Politicians take an oath to the Constitution to protect the homeland from enemies foreign and domestic. Illegal aliens break U.S. law as soon as they enter our country without going through a legal port of entry.
Venezuelans benefit from a form of parole granted by Biden. Only a small amount of illegal aliens from Venezuela have been deported. They come from a failed country and many do not show any inclination to abide by American laws. That attitude can turn deadly, as it did with the murder of an innocent 22-year-old nursing student out for a jog on a college campus. Joe Biden has blood on his hands.
Instead of deporting them, Biden is giving Venezuelan migrants parole and work permits so they can deliver DoorDash and murder nursing students.
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) March 13, 2024
He is turning illegal immigrants into legal immigrants by abusing our laws. Which is why we need a TOTAL immigration moratorium. MAGA https://t.co/bnp7cCpKco
