Congressional Republicans are speeding up congressional passage of their first immigration crackdown bill with a first vote expected later this week on the Laken Riley Act, which would pressure Homeland Security to detains and deports illegal immigrants who steal or steal.
Sen. Katie Britt, Republican of Alabama, announced a Senate version of the bill on Tuesday and Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, announced the House version.
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have already scheduled it to come up for a vote on Tuesday, and given the support of new Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the bill will also likely see quick action at the House of Representatives. upper room.
Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, was killed last year by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who was arrested and released by the Biden administration and protected by sanctuary city policies that allowed him to accumulate a long criminal record while free in the United States.
The killing helped elevate illegal immigration, already a latent problem, to a crisis for the Biden administration and a powerful political message for Republicans.
“The American people not only issued a warrant on November 5, they issued a verdict. They have made clear they want to deport criminal illegal aliens and protect American families. We will soon know if Democrats hear, respect and obey this verdict,” Ms. Britt said.
José Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was convicted of Riley’s murder and sentenced to life in prison. He snuck into the United States on September 8, 2022, and was released a day later under one of President Biden’s “parole” programs that catch and release illegal immigrants.
In 2023, he recorded an arrest in New York for child endangerment, then a month later he was charged with shoplifting in Georgia. Two months later, he failed to appear in court.
Despite these tangles, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took no action to arrest him — and Homeland Security actually issued him a work permit in December 2023, giving him a new tool to infiltrate the community before Riley’s murder.
“An illegal felon walked into my district and killed Laken Riley because our local law enforcement did not have the tools to stop him,” Mr. Collins said. “Laken fought until her last breath, and so did I until this bill crossed the finish line and landed on the president’s desk.”
The Laken Riley Act would direct ICE to arrest and detain illegal immigrants who commit shoplifting, burglary, larceny, or theft.
It would also allow states to bring civil action in court against federal officials who refuse to enforce immigration law.
More than 40 Republican senators support the bill, including Mr. Thune of South Dakota and Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina.
“As we turn the page on Joe Biden’s disastrous open border policies, the Laken Riley Act will enable the Trump administration to enforce our laws, keep our nation safe, and prevent tragedies,” Mr. Budd said.
A version of the Laken Riley Act was approved last year by the Republican-led House by a vote of 251 to 170. More than three dozen Democrats supported it.
It was never voted on in the Democratic-led Senate.
Its passage in the House this week is all but certain.
Mr. Thune began the process Monday of placing the Senate version of the bill on the calendar, which does not guarantee a vote but allows bills to bypass committees and go directly to the floor. audience.
It would need to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold to pass the Senate. This would require the support of at least eight members of the Democratic caucus.
Sen. John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, is co-sponsoring the bill alongside nearly all Senate Republicans.
Allyson and John Phillips, Riley’s mother and stepfather, urged Congress to approve the bill, calling it a way to honor their daughter.
“Every member of Congress should be able to support this purely common-sense bill that will make our country and our communities safer,” they said.
• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.
washingtontimes
