(BrightPress.org) – Republican Senators Katie Britt from Alabama and Ted Budd from North Carolina introduced the Laken Riley Act to the Senate. The measure, named after a college nursing student murdered in Georgia, would demand illegal immigrants who commit burglary, theft, or larceny crimes be arrested and held by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) until they can be removed from the country. The bill also includes giving states the right to bring civil action against federal officials who either violate or refuse to enforce immigration law.
Laken Riley, 22, was reported missing by her college roommate after she did not return from a morning run on the campus of the University of Georgia last month. She was later found dead. According to police, Riley was killed by a Venezuelan migrant. The offender, Jose Antonio Ibarra, had entered the country illegally in 2022. He had previously been arrested in New York for endangering a child and again in Georgia for shoplifting. He was not detained by ICE.
Sen. Katie Britt told Fox News she believes Riley’s murder was preventable and a direct result of the Biden administration’s current open border policies. Sen. Ted Budd told Fox he supports the bill to allow states to “protect their citizens” from “lawless” open border policies.
Representative Mike Collins of Georgia introduced the measure to the House where it passed by a 251-170 vote. Thirty-seven Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill. All of the 170 “no” votes were Democrats.
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock from Georgia claims the Laken Riley Act is nothing but “smoke and mirrors” put forth by lawmakers that are “not serious.” Warnock told MSNBC that Congress already has a bipartisan deal covering border-related issues. Sen. Warnock claims Republicans are using the tragic death of Laken Riley to score “cheap political points” and bring attention to the border crisis. Warnock insists that rather than “demagoguing” Riley’s death, they should “get serious” about bipartisan legislation to deal with the crisis at the border.
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