WASHINGTON—Today, President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law—legislation that would require detention of illegal aliens charged with some crimes such as theft. The bill also allows states attorneys general to sue a federal administration that fails to enforce immigration laws. The legislation is in response to the brutal murder of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley by illegal alien Jose Ibarra last year.
Lora Ries, director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation stated:
“While this legislation is a step in the right direction, it should be the first of much more border and immigration legislation, starting with a bill that provides significant resources and funding for ICE.
“Now that they have a mandate to fix immigration and border security, policymakers should immediately provide the resources necessary to operationalize millions of deportation each year, prioritize the American worker over foreign labor, end once and for all the loopholes that the Biden Administration was able to weaponize, end amnesty of any kind, and end the funding of nonprofits that facilitate illegal immigration, both home and abroad.
“It is beyond time to secure our borders and deport those who remain in the country unlawfully.”
Simon Hankinson, senior research fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation added:
“That the Laken Riley Act is the first legislation signed in Trump’s second term shows his commitment to fulfill the promise he made to the American people to control our borders and restore the rule of law to immigration.
“This law will require the detention of some criminal aliens who are a threat to public safety, making our communities less vulnerable to preventable crimes from inadmissible aliens who should not be here in the first place.
“The Biden-Harris administration allowed thousands of dangerous aliens like Jose Ibarra to enter the country under bogus parole programs or via “catch-and-release” at the border, with no verification of their identity. Sadly, many others like Ibarra continue to present an ongoing risk to public safety.
“The Laken Riley Act is a needed step in ending the lawlessness at our borders that has consequences in every corner of the country.”
