The House of Representatives passed its first major piece of legislation of the new Congress Tuesday, mandating border enforcement officials detain illegal immigrants who steal — and permitting states to sue the federal government over the ill effects of mass migration.
In a 264-159 vote, 216 Republicans and 48 Democrats banded together to pass the Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia nursing student murdered last year by an illegal migrant. The Republican-held Senate is expected to take up the bill later this week.
Among the four dozen Dems who helped pass the legislation were New York Reps. Laura Gillen, Joe Morelle, Ritchie Torres, John Mannion, Tom Suozzi and Josh Riley.
Under the Laken Riley Act, illegal immigrants who are arrested, charged or convicted of “burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting” must be held by immigration authorities. The Laken Riley Act also allows state attorneys general to sue the feds for not enforcing immigration law.
Should state or local officials not step up, the Homeland Security secretary is ordered to “effectively and expeditiously take custody of the alien” — a mandate that would override Democratic jurisdictions’ so-called “sanctuary policies,” which discourage cooperation with federal authorities in immigration cases.
“Laken Riley was brutally murdered by an illegal alien that President Biden and the Democrats let into this country with their open border policy. It is hard to believe after countless horrific stories like Laken’s, ANY House Democrats would vote against deporting illegal aliens who commit violent crimes against American citizens,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a statement.
“But 159 just did, demonstrating some Democrats have ignored the loud and clear message from voters in this election who demanded secure borders, the deportation of violent illegal aliens, and laws that put the safety and security of the American people first.”
The bill previously cleared the lower chamber in a 251-170 vote on March 7, 2024, with at least 37 Democrats voting in favor of it hours before President Biden’s final State of the Union address.
Biden, 82, later tried to invoke Riley during his speech — but mangled her first name as “Lincoln,” drawing mockery from his critics.
Ultimately, the Democratic-controlled Senate neglected to take up the measure last year. Now that Republicans control the upper chamber, they intend to move toward its swift passage.
Riley’s brutal death at the hands of Venezuelan Jose Ibarra drew outrage last year and became a major flashpoint in the debate over Biden’s lax border policies.
Tren de Aragua gangbanger Ibarra, 26, allegedly tried to rape Riley before asphyxiating her and bludgeoning her to death with a rock on Feb. 22, 2024.
The 22-year-old August University nursing student had been jogging through the University of Georgia’s campus at the time. Ibarra was convicted in November and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ibarra illegally crossed the southern border into El Paso, Texas, on Sept. 8, 2022, but was released almost immediately due to lack of detention space and later bussed to New York City.
But critics raged at how Ibarra had slipped through the system despite his past run-ins with the law.
He worked briefly for DoorDash, Uber Eats and a local restaurant before being arrested in August of that year for child endangerment.
Police apprehended Ibarra racing through the streets of Queens on a gas-powered moped with his wife’s five-year-old son holding on for dear life on the back, without head protection or a seat belt, law enforcement sources previously told The Post.
In December 2023, Ibarra made a court appearance over a shoplifting case.
Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) later claimed that it didn’t apprehend Ibarra during a prior arrest in New York because local officials had cut him loose before they could issue a detainer.
Ahead of the Laken Riley Act’s consideration in the Senate, at least two Democrats, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Gary Peters of Michigan, have publicly indicated that they intend to support it.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who previously backed the measure when he was serving as a representative, has said that he is currently reviewing the text to ensure no major changes were made before he announces if he will vote for it.
The Laken Riley Act is one of a handful of small-scale border security policies that congressional Republicans are working to wrangle through to give President-elect Donald Trump legislation to sign after he gets sworn in on Inauguration Day.
Republicans are also working on a more comprehensive border security reform package that will likely be coupled with other marquee legislative goals on energy and other issues for Trump to sign within the coming months.
