The House has voted to pass the Laken Riley Act, a critical piece of immigration law inspired by the tragic murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in Georgia.
The
vote came on Tuesday, with 216 Republicans voting in favor of the measure and 48 Democrats supporting it. The only opposition came from 159 Democrats who voted against the bill.
The
bill would mandate the detention of migrants charged with theft-related crimes while residing in the country.
The act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to include crimes such as burglary, theft, larceny, and shoplifting under its mandatory detention provisions and mandates that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detain migrants charged with these offenses.
If passed, the bill would empower state attorneys general to “bring an action against the Secretary of Homeland Security…to obtain appropriate injunctive relief” if a migrant commits one of these crimes against a resident.
Riley was murdered on February 22, 2024, while jogging on the University of Georgia campus. Her body was later found in Oconee Forest Park and the cause of death was identified as blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxiation.
townhall.com