The Laken Riley Act Is Back

House Republicans will vote on a bill this week cracking down on illegal immigrants charged with theft or burglary.

Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) reintroduced the Laken Riley Act last week, which gives law enforcement “the tools they need to protect their communities and ensure that no more innocent lives are lost to a broken immigration and criminal justice system,” he explained.

The legislation, which passed with bipartisan support last year but stalled in the Democrat-led Senate, is named after the 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia campus last February. 

The Laken Riley Act does two things:

• It would amend federal law to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers and take custody of illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes, such as shoplifting, as defined by state and local law.
• It allows state attorneys general to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements, or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens.

The bill directly addresses one of the federal policy failures related to Laken Riley’s murder. Her murderer, Jose Ibarra, is an illegal alien who had been previously cited for shoplifting by the Athens Police Department. If local law enforcement had called ICE, and ICE issued a detainer and picked him up, Laken would be alive. Ibarra was found guilty in November 2024 and has been sentenced to life without parole. (Rep. Mike Collins)

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ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

A senior House Republican aide told POLITICO the lower chamber is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday and the Senate will likely take it up on Friday. The measure would need support from at least eight Democratic senators to pass.

"In stark contrast, Senate Republicans are prioritizing protecting American families from day one of the 119th Congress," Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) told the outlet. "We’re ready to make America safe again, and we’re ready for President Trump’s second term."