U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-GA, opened the 119th Congress by reintroducing the Laken Riley Act to give local law enforcement and ICE more tools to fight illegal immigrants who commit crimes and honor the life of an Augusta University nursing student killed by an illegal immigrant on the University of Georgia’s campus in February 2024. Wednesday, the House gave final passage of the Senate companion to Collins’ bill, with 46 Democrats joining all House Republicans. The bill will now be sent to President Trump’s desk and is expected to be the first bill that he signs into law.
“This bill never would have passed with such bipartisan support if it were not for the people of Georgia and our nation calling their representatives and demanding that they pass the Laken Riley Act,” Collins told James Magazine Online exclusively after the bill passed. “Laken wanted nothing in life but to help people, and once President Trump signs this legislation into law shortly, her name will live on in the lives she saves.”
“Today, Republicans and Democrats put partisan politics aside to save lives and reform a broken system that has failed American citizens across the country,” Collins added.
All Republican members of the Georgia delegation voted for passage. Three Georgia Democrats voted against it – Rep. Hank Johnson, Rep. David Scott and Rep. Nikema Williams.
The act gives local law enforcement and ICE the resources to detain and deport illegal immigrants arrested for shoplifting, assault against police officers, and crimes by illegal immigrants that result in death or serious bodily injury. This legislation also allows for states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements, or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens.
“The Laken Riley Act is bipartisan legislation that fixes a bipartisan problem, and I am proud that the country has come together to ensure that no family must live through the pain that an illegal immigrant has caused Riley’s. Laken Riley was in school to save lives, and although her opportunities were taken away, her name will live on as this bill prevents deaths like hers,” Collins added.
The bill was led in the U.S. Senate by Katie Britt, R-AL, and passed the Senate by a vote of 64-35. Georgia’s two Democratic Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff voted in favor of the measure.
