The House of Representatives approved its first legislation of the modern Congress on Tuesday, passing the Laken-Riley lawwhich would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants accused of theft and other crimes.
The act is named after Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who was brutally murdered last year by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra. The measure now heads to the Senate.
Here is that moment:https://t.co/o0dJVOy4CT
– The Recount (@therecount) January 7, 2025
Related: Fetterman just put a stop to Democrats’ plans to stop the Laken-Riley Act from making its way to Trump’s desk
Laken Riley’s heartbroken father speaks out: ‘The killer might not have been here if we had sheltered borders’
RedState’s Teri Christoph reported earlier Tuesday on what the act would accomplish:
The bill Goals to provide Americans with a little protection by incarcerating illegals who commit non-violent crimes.
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. citizens (Aliens (under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, larceny, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government over decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.
This bill would require DHS to detain an individual who: (1) is unlawfully present in the United States or did not have the required documentation when applying for admission; and (2) has been charged with, arrested, or convicted of, or admits to having committed, acts that constitute the necessary elements of burglary, larceny, larceny, or shoplifting.
If this bill, which is just a drop in the ocean of illegal immigration reform needed in the United States, had been enacted this time last year, Laken Riley would still be alive. The man had previously been convicted of her murder arrested for child endangerment and shoplifting and therefore would have been in custody and not free to prey on adolescent women like Laken Riley.
BREAKING.🚨
The 119th Congress passed its first bill: the Laken Riley Act.
“[T]The Laken Riley Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins, holds the Biden administration accountable for its role in these tragedies through its open borders policies and requires the detention of illegal… pic.twitter.com/lyN55ofgGa
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) January 7, 2025
“[T]The Laken-Riley Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins, blames the Biden administration for its role in these tragedies through its open borders policies, requires the detention of illegal immigrants who commit thefts, orders their detention by ICE, and allows one State to do so on behalf of its citizens sue the federal government for failure to enforce border laws, particularly in the case of parole.”
264 Republicans and Democrats voted for the bill.
159 Democrats voted against the bill.
The bill had previously been passed, only to be defeated by Democrats in the Senate.
The House of Representatives approved the bill in March. Thirty-seven House Democrats joined Republicans in supporting passage. But the bill failed in the Senate, which was then controlled by Democrats.
[House Speaker Mike] Johnson encouraged more Democrats to join Republicans this time, saying the vote was “revealing.”
“We are going to arrest and deport illegal aliens who commit burglaries, larcenies, thefts, shoplifting and certainly cruel and violent crimes, and I can’t believe anyone would be against that,” Johnson said.
It’s shameful that so many Democrats voted against the measure, especially after voters in the November election stated unequivocally that illegal immigration and crime were two major concerns for them. Now that Republicans have a slim majority, we hope they do the right thing and sign this into law.
