A few days before the start of Donald Trump’s administration in the United States, Congress is already considering a bill that seeks to address certain crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
The “Laken Riley Law” has had bipartisan support and, among other things, establishes federal detention for people who are in the United States irregularly and are accused of theft.
What does the law say?
The bill has four sections and states verbatim that it will require “the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody foreigners who have been accused in the United States of theft and for other reasons.”
The main provisions would force authorities to arrest immigrants suspected of theft of $100 or more.
In addition to the crime of robbery, the law contemplates crimes such as burglary, shoplifting and requires that they be detained until they are expelled from the United States.
The bill would also allow states to sue the federal government if they can prove harm caused by migrants entering the country illegally. Additionally, it would require the State Department to block visas from countries that do not accept deported people.
This law was initially proposed in March 2024 in the House of Representatives by Republican Congressman Mike Collins, who stated that “I hope to see the same level of bipartisan support for this bill in the Senate, and I urge my Senate counterparts to put it on President Trump’s desk and save lives.”
Currently, immigration authorities use their discretion to detain people with violent criminal records.
What part of the process is it going on?
The bill was already approved in the House of Representatives on January 8, when 48 Democrats joined Republicans to give way to the legislation that finally obtained 264 votes in favor and 159 against.
Now, the “Laken Riley Act” must pass approval in the Senate, where it has already voted in favor of proceeding with its consideration.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and the majority of Democrats in the US upper house showed their support for discussing the bill, however, he made it clear that Democrats will only allow it to pass if Republicans work with them on bipartisan amendments.
This is one of the first actions taken by the new Congress, which was sworn in at the beginning of the year with a Republican majority in the House and Senate.
During his campaign, Trump promised stricter measures to reduce irregular migration to the United States, including a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. If approved in the Senate, the Law would only have to be signed by the president.
Who is Laken Riley?
The name of this bill, according to Republicans, seeks to honor the memory of Laken Riley, a nursing student in the state of Georgia who was murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant who had crossed irregularly into the United States.
Riley was 22 years old when she went jogging on the University of Georgia campus on the morning of February 22, 2024. Along the way, she was attacked by a man identified by authorities as 26-year-old José Antonio Ibarra.
The cause of death of the young woman was described as blunt force trauma and asphyxiation, according to the forensic expert in charge of the case.
Ibarra had been detained by federal authorities after crossing the border, however, he was released on parole. Authorities described that he had been staying in a New York hotel used as a migrant shelter, before taking a flight to Georgia.
The man had also previously been charged with theft, but was not jailed.
In the Riley case, the Venezuelan was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Found positions
Legislators and experts have shown conflicting positions on this bill.
Those in favor of the law assure that this is “common sense” legislation that will help “save lives.”
“This law goes directly to the tragedy that occurred with Laken Riley…she should be with us. If this law had been active, she would be alive,” said Republican Senator Katie Britt.
The current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, noted that this law is part of the new administration’s priorities to “fix the immigration system.”
“When we brought this bill to the last Congress, it is incredible to me that 170 Democrats in the House voted against the legislation. We are going to detain and deport irregular immigrants who have committed robberies, robberies, certainly violent and vicious crimes. And I can’t believe that anyone is against that,” he added.
Organizations such as the Children’s Defense Fund denounced the law as one that would “increase the mass incarceration of people of color, including children and youth, by enabling anti-immigrant policing practices and the profiling of people perceived as undocumented, leading to arrests based on false charges.”
While the Center for Immigrant Rights said that “the Laken Riley Act would weaken long-established due process rights and undermine the principle that people are presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
Other experts assure that the law could mean additional burden for migrant detention places, which currently can house about 41,000 people.
In a letter sent to Congress in December, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warned that without additional funding they would be forced to release thousands of immigrants due to a lack of space to shelter them.
ICE estimates that more than 60,000 undocumented immigrants could meet the criminal record criteria that are included in the “Laken Riley Act.”
A series of studies by academics and think tanks have shown that immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans.
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