US House passes Laken Riley Act, awaiting Trump’s signature

Anadolu, Philippine News Agency

The House passed the legislation in a 263 to 156 vote, two days after the Senate approved the measure in a bipartisan 64-35 vote. (Pexels Photo)

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act Wednesday, which is aimed at giving law enforcement more tools to detain illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the US.

The House passed the legislation in a 263 to 156 vote, two days after the Senate approved the measure in a bipartisan 64-35 vote.

It is poised to be the first bill that President Donald Trump signs into law during his second term.

“Today, we’re going to send to President Trump’s desk his very first bill to sign into law,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said.

The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “detain certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.”

It also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.

The bill is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who was murdered in Georgia last year by a migrant who was in the US illegally.

Riley’s murder drew national attention to the immigration debate after officials announced that her killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was a Venezuelan citizen who had illegally entered the country at the US-Mexico border in 2022.

Trump and the Republican Party used Riley’s death as part of their campaign’s rallying cry during the presidential election to demand stricter immigration policies at the southern border. (Anadolu)