The United States Senate has passed the Laken Riley Act by 64-35, mandating the federal detention and deportation of illegal immigrants who are arrested for crimes like shoplifting and other theft-related crimes. The bill will now head back to the House of Representatives to reconcile minor changes to the legislation.
An initial attempt to enact the legislation last year was blocked by Democrat lawmakers on Capitol Hill. However, following President Donald J. Trump’s landslide 2024 election victory and public opinion turning hard against illegal immigration, the bill gained renewed momentum and passed the House in early January.
Sponsored by Representative Mike Collins (R-GA), The Laken Riley Act was introduced following the murder of its namesake, Laken Riley—a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student—by José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela. On November 20, 2024, Ibarra was found guilty of ten counts of intent to rape, felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and aggravated assault. The murder of Laken Riley became a major issue during the 2024 presidential campaign and came to symbolize the Biden-Harris government’s failed border policies. The Georgia girl’s parents backed President Trump’s bid to retake the White House and restore U.S. border security and deport the unprecedented number of illegal immigrants allowed in the country by Joe Biden.
After taking the Presidential Oath of Office earlier on Monday, President Trump swiftly moved to close the U.S. southern border. The infamous checkpoint in El Paso, Texas, where Ibarra entered the country, was shut down. Meanwhile, President Trump also suspended the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) CBP One app, which Biden used to parole hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants into the United States.
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