Peace Garden News

The United States Senate has passed the Laken Riley Act with a bipartisan vote of 64 to 35. This legislation, initially introduced earlier this month by U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) along with Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), aims to enhance the enforcement of immigration laws.

The Laken Riley Act mandates the detention of illegal immigrants charged with property-related crimes and provides states with mechanisms to hold federal officials accountable for lapses in enforcing immigration laws. An amendment proposed by U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) was adopted, requiring ICE to detain illegal immigrants charged with crimes causing death or serious bodily harm. Additionally, a provision by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) was included, mandating the detention of those who assault law enforcement officers.

Having previously passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 264 to 159, the amended bill will return to the House for further consideration.

Senator Cramer stated, "Every crime committed by illegal immigrants is preventable because they should not be here in the first place," adding that he commends the Senate for passing this legislation to equip immigration authorities with necessary tools for detention and deportation.

The act is named after Laken Riley, a nursing student killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging in Athens, Georgia. Her assailant had been released into the United States despite violating federal immigration requirements and had prior convictions for theft but was neither detained nor deported due to enforcement gaps. The legislation seeks to address these issues by ensuring individuals like her killer are detained and deported before committing further crimes.

ICE data as of July 21, 2024, indicates nearly 650,000 criminal illegal immigrants are on ICE’s Non-Detained Docket within the United States. This includes approximately 15,000 individuals convicted or charged with murder, over 20,000 with sexual assault charges, and more than 105,000 accused of assault.