Photo: ELIJAH NOUVELAGE / AFP / Getty Images
The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on the Laken Riley Act, the first bill of the 119th Congress, on Tuesday (January 7). Named after Laken Riley, a nursing student murdered by an illegal immigrant, the bill aims to enhance immigration enforcement. It mandates that federal immigration authorities detain illegal immigrants found guilty of theft-related crimes and allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused by illegal immigration.
The bill was first introduced by Representative Mike Collins of Georgia's 10th Congressional District. It passed the House last year with bipartisan support but stalled in the Senate.
Collins stated, "The Laken Riley Act gives our law enforcement the tools they need to protect their communities and ensure that no more innocent lives are lost to a broken immigration and criminal justice system."
Jose Ibarra, Riley's convicted murderer, had been previously cited for shoplifting but was not detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The bill requires ICE to detain individuals unlawfully present in the United States who have committed crimes such as burglary, theft, or shoplifting.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill later this week.