House passes immigration measure named for Laken Riley in first bill
Washington — The House on Tuesday approved the first piece of policy legislation in the new Congress, a bill aimed at addressing illegal immigration.
this Laken Riley Act Requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain undocumented immigrants accused of theft and other crimes. The bill is named after Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant last year. a judge convicted The man, Jose Ibarra, has been charged with murder and other charges related to Riley’s death in November.
“As promised, we begin today to address border security,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said ahead of Tuesday’s vote. He added that lawmakers “have a lot of work to do to fix this,” noting that “Laken The Riley Act “is a major initiative.” part of it. “
The House passed the bill in a vote of 264 to 159, with all voting Republicans and 48 Democrats supporting its passage.
The legislation also includes a provision authorizing state attorneys general to sue the Department of Homeland Security if they claim their state or its residents have been harmed by immigration policies.
The House approved the bill in March, with 37 House Democrats joining Republicans in supporting its passage. But the bill stalled in the then-Democrat-controlled Senate.
Johnson encouraged more Democrats to join the Republican Party this time around, saying the vote would “speak for itself.”
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“We will be detaining and deporting illegal aliens who commit burglaries, thefts, thefts, shoplifting and of course vicious and violent crimes, and I don’t believe anyone is going to object,” Johnson said.
Riley’s story became a rallying cry for Republicans in the run-up to the 2024 election, while Democrats accused the party of exploiting her death for political purposes.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said before Tuesday’s vote that “the murder of Laken Riley was an unspeakable and shocking crime,” but called the bill “A hollow and opportunistic measure.” Raskin said the legislation “fails to solve any real problems,” while criticizing Republicans for abandoning a bipartisan border security agreement last year when President-elect Donald Trump “vetoed” the legislation “vigorously.”
The Maryland Democrat argued the bill would upend decades of policy requiring the detention of undocumented immigrants “even if they have never been convicted or even charged with a crime,” calling it a “complete departure” from current law. .
This time, though, the bill has more bipartisan support. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman became the first Senate Democrat this week to sign on to a joint proposal in the Republican-controlled upper chamber, where a vote is expected on Friday.
“Laken Riley’s story is a tragic reminder of the dangers we face when our systems fail to protect people,” Fetterman said in a statement, noting that while he said immigrants “let us to make our country great” but he supported giving authorities the tools to “prevent tragedies from happening”. Just like this, we are looking for comprehensive solutions to our broken system. “
Republicans have pledged to make border security a key priority as they prepare for a Republican trifecta in Washington when Trump returns to the White House later this month.
