WASHINGTON -Today, U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced the Laken Riley Act, which would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal aliens who commit theft, burglary, larceny, or shoplifting offenses and mandate these aliens be detained until they are removed from the United States. The legislation also empowers states attorneys general to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security for taking actions on immigration that harm their states or their citizens?.
The bill is named after 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered by an illegal alien on campus last month. The illegal alien had been previously cited for theft and shoplifting but was released.
“The number of illegal migrants crossing our border should be zero, but because of President Biden’s open border policies we have tens of thousands of illegal crossings a day, including people who seek to harm us,” said Risch. “Laken Riley should be with us today. The least we can do is to ensure another American life isn’t stolen like hers by requiring ICE to arrest, detain, and remove any illegal alien who commits theft in this country.”
“It is infuriating that Laken’s death was preventable if not for the lax immigration and crime policies of the Biden Administration,” said Crapo. “We can stop senseless acts such as her murder from continuing by bolstering our policies to thwart repeat offenders and protect American citizens.”
“States should be able to protect their citizens from the Biden administration’s lawless, open border policies by seeking relief in federal court,” said Budd.“That’s why I am joining Senator Britt to introduce the Senate version of theLaken Riley Act. We simply cannot tolerate any more senseless tragedies like this one. What happened to Laken Riley should never happen to any American citizen.”
“Make no mistake – Laken Riley’s heartbreaking murder was a direct, preventable consequence of willful open border policies by President Biden and his administration,” said Britt. “This commonsense legislation would ensure ICE detains and deports criminal illegal aliens, so more innocent American families do not have to face this kind of unimaginable tragedy. I am grateful for Representative Collins’ strong leadership and for Senator Budd’s partnership in introducing this Senate companion bill. Senator Schumer should bring this bill to the Senate floor immediately.”
The House of Representatives passed the bill on March 7, 2024 in a bipartisan vote of 251-70 including 37 Democrats.
U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Kennedy (R-La.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) joined Risch, Crapo, Budd, and Britt in introducing the Laken Riley Act.
