by WorldTribune Staff, January 8, 2025 Real World News
The Lake Riley Act, legislation which requires federal immigration authorities to detain illegal aliens found guilty of theft-related crimes, passed the Republican-controlled House on Tuesday.
The first piece of federal legislation approved by the 119th Congress saw all voting House Republicans supporting the bill along with 48 Democrats while 159 Democrats opposed it.
The legislation also would allow states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration.
Jose Ibarra, who was sentenced to life in prison for Riley’s murder, had previously been arrested but was never detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
“[T]he Laken Riley Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins, holds the Biden Administration accountable for their role in these tragedies through their open border policies, requires detention of illegal aliens who commit theft and mandates ICE take them into custody, and allows a state to sue the Federal government on behalf of their citizens for not enforcing the border laws, particularly in the case of parole,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in his daily House floor lookout.
New York Democrat Rep. Jerrold Nadler slammed the bill for requiring ICE to arrest and detain illegal aliens who are “merely charged with committing an act of theft or shoplifting,” adding that the bill is “pernicious and absurd.”
The Senate, also controlled by the GOP, is set to vote on the bill this week.
On the morning of Feb. 22, Riley left her home and went for a run along a wooded trail on the Athens campus of her alma mater, the University of Georgia, but never returned. The body of the nursing student was found hours later, and authorities determined she had died from blunt force trauma and suffocation.
In November, Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela, was found guilty of murdering Riley. Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Ibarra guilty of felony murder and malice murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, kidnapping with bodily injury, obstructing a person making an emergency call, aggravated battery, tampering with evidence, and “peeping Tom.” Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Ibarra first entered America as an illegal alien in 2022, according to officials. Ibarra was arrested in 2023 in New York on charges of child endangerment but was released before ICE could ask local law enforcement to hold him. Ibarra later moved to Georgia.
In September, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that more than 662,000 criminal illegal aliens were released into the interior of the U.S. Among those, 435,719 had already been convicted of a crime, with 226,847 more facing pending criminal charges.
Ahead of the vote on the Laken Riley Act, @RepMikeCollins just read a letter from Riley’s family endorsing the bill.
“Laken would have been 23 on Jan. 10. There is no greater gift that could be given to her, or our country, than saving lives through this bill.” pic.twitter.com/SJR7ceDxAp
— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) January 7, 2025
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