The Laken Riley Act, named for an Augusta University nursing student murdered by an illegal alien last year in Athens, gives local law enforcement and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) more tools to fight illegals committing crime. And it could be headed to President Donald Trump’s desk soon.
The Senate passed the bill on a 64 to 35 vote after 12 Democrats joined all Republicans to vote for the amended immigration bill. Georgia’s two U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff voted in favor of the measure, which is a similar but not identical bill to the one that passed the House earlier this month. (Warnock was initially opposing it but citizen pressure appeared to change his mind.)The final Senate tally was 64-35.
The House is expected to take up the measure later this week, likely today or Thursday. It would then land on Trump’s desk, delivering him an early bipartisan win on his signature campaign issue of illegal immigration.
“She should be alive today, and I thought it was important to act,” Warnock said. “This is not the bill I would have written. I think I was hoping for a path for a more bipartisan bill, but I’ll keep working from here.”
Ossoff, up for reelection next year, had said all along that he backed the legislation.
The Laken Riley Act makes two major changes in law. Currently the Department of Homeland Security has discretion to detain only undocumented immigrants accused of serious crimes, like rape, domestic violence, murder and some drug offenses. The bill would institute a mandatory requirement to detain those charged with smaller crimes. Because Riley’s murderer had absconded on a shoplifting charge, the initial bill included burglary, minor theft and larceny. Amendments from two senators expanded the list to include those charged with the assault of a law enforcement officer and causing death or serious bodily injury to another person.
The measure also allows governments to sue the federal government over certain immigration decisions and “alleged failures.” State attorney generals could file lawsuits, for instance, to have specific immigrants detained or to stop the issuance of visas to immigrants from countries that won’t accept deportees.
The bill was passed by the House on the first day in the 119th Congress earlier this month after being reintroduced by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga. All nine Republican members of Georgia’s delegation supported the re-introduced bill, along with Democrat Rep. Lucy McBath. The four remaining Democrats in the Georgia delegation voted “no” with most members of their party. McBath was among the lawmakers who switched from a “no” to a “yes.”
The bill passed the House last year with overwhelming bipartisan support before stalling in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
“Nearly one year ago, an illegal immigrant came across our border and killed Laken Riley. Today, House Republicans and Democrats joined together to ensure that no family must go through the pain that Laken Riley’s has,” said Collins.
