Lawmakers advanced a federal immigration bill named after Laken Riley, a college student who was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant.
In a 251–170 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, named after the 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student killed during a run on campus last month.
According to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the accused killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, entered the country illegally in 2022. In 2023, Mr. Ibarra was arrested in New York for endangering a child and a motor vehicle violation but released by police before a detainer could be issued. Mr. Ibarra was later given a citation for shoplifting in Georgia and let go again.
The Laken Riley Act would give ICE more tools to detain and deport criminal illegal immigrants before they commit more serious crimes and would require ICE to issue detainers for illegal immigrants charged with theft or burglary. The bill was introduced by Representative Mike Collins (R-Ga.), who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional district, which includes Athens, where the deadly attack happened.
“One of the critical parts of the Laken Riley Act is that it allows state Attorneys General to sue the Department of Homeland Security for injunctive relief if immigration policy failures harm that state or its citizens,” according to Mr. Collins.
Before the House vote, some Republican lawmakers directly blamed President Joe Biden’s border policies for Ms. Riley’s death. The college student died of blunt force trauma to the head.
“Clearly, this illegal alien has a pattern of criminal history, one that started when he accepted Joe Biden’s invitation to illegally enter this country,” argued Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga).
37 Democrats joined all Republicans present in support of the bill. However, some Democrat lawmakers argue that Republicans are exploiting Ms. Riley and using her case to demonize immigrants.
“Rather than approaching this tragic death in a thoughtful manner, Republicans appear to just have thrown together language from existing, unrelated bills that target and scapegoat immigrants to score cheap political points in an election year,” according to Representative Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y. )
According to a Gallup poll, significantly more Americans name immigration as the most important problem facing the U.S., with 28 percent of respondents saying immigration is the country’s biggest issue, compared to 20 percent a month ago. Additionally, a record-high 55 percent of respondents, up eight points from last year, say that large numbers of immigrants entering the country illegally are a critical threat to the country’s vital interests. This surpassed the record previous high at 50 percent in 2004.
President Joe Biden is expected to discuss immigration as he delivers his third State of the Union address on Thursday night. Mr. Collins invited the parents of Laken Riley to attend the president’s address, but they declined. Instead, a seat will remain vacant to honor Ms. Riley and others.
“As Joe Biden attempts to paint a rosy picture of the crime-ridden country he has created, he will look up at an empty seat that memorializes those we’ve lost because of his open border policies, ” Mr. Collins posted on social media platform X.
The Georgia congressman urged the Senate to vote on the bill immediately to ensure justice for Ms. Riley and other victims of crime at the hands of illegal immigrants.