What to know about the Laken Riley Act
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Migrants wait to board buses in Tapachula, Mexico to travel to the border with the U.S. on Jan. 15. Photo: Jose Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Laken Riley Act is the first bill President Trump signed into law Wednesday after returning to office — an early victory for his immigration policy agenda.
Why it matters: The new law will require the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes such as theft. Federal immigration officials have warned it could impact 60,000 people.
- Trump has vowed his administration will zero in on immigration and border security after Republicans for four years decried the Biden administration's approach to border security.
What is the Laken Riley Act?
The Laken Riley Act requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain certain non-U.S. nationals 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," per the bill text.
Zoom in: The bill is named after a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year while jogging by an undocumented immigrant who had previously been arrested on theft charges. The Venezuelan man convicted of killing Riley has been sentenced to life in prison.
- Republicans frequently pointed to Riley's death as evidence of the need for stronger border policies.
Bipartisan support
The bill received bipartisan support and quickly was on track to be the first one passed out of the 119th Congress.
- It was one of a dozen pieces of legislation listed in the House GOP's rules package that passed this month, allowing it to be voted on under a streamlined process.
- The House previously passed the bill last March, with 37 Democrats voting in favor of it. But it did not get a vote in the then-Democratic Senate.
Where it stands: The bill passed the House last week 263-156, with 46 Democrats voting for it.
- 48 Democrats had voted for an earlier version of the bill this month, before the Senate added two amendments.
- One of the additions would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain any undocumented immigrants accused of assaulting a law enforcement officer.
- After adding the two amendments, the Senate passed the measure on Jan. 20 in a 64-35 vote, with 12 Democrats voting for it.
ICE warning about Laken Riley Act enforcement
ICE warned Congress that the Laken Riley Act could require detention for 60,000 people, and that the agency would need billions of dollars and thousands more detention beds to comply with the law, Axios reported.
- The agency said that without emergency funding, they could be forced to release tens of thousands of immigrants, including potentially some deemed to be public safety threats.
- The Laken Riley Act does not include money for enforcing the new detention requirements.
Reality check: Less than 0.5% of the 1.8 million cases in immigration courts during the past fiscal year — involving about 8,400 people — included deportation orders for alleged crimes other than entering the U.S. illegally, an Axios review of government data found.
- The federal government has prioritized deporting immigrants with criminal records since the Obama administration, Amy Maldonado, an immigration lawyer in Michigan, tells Axios.
- Study after study has indicated that immigrants — those in the U.S. legally or undocumented — commit crimes at lower rates than U.S. citizens, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
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