(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a long-overdue but still highly commendable move, the GOP House majority has adopted a bill in order to crack down illegal alien criminals, with the legislation named after Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student murdered last month by an illegal immigrant.
Laken Riley was reportedly assaulted during a jog in a wooded area near the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.
The accused, Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, who illegally entered the United States, was apprehended and charged with her murder after initially being detained and then released.
The Laken Riley Act mandates that the federal government detain foreign nationals found guilty of “burglary, theft, larceny, or [a] shoplifting offense.”
Additionally, it empowers states to initiate legal action against the federal government for failing to enforce certain immigration laws, The Daily Caller reports.
The bill was passed in the House with a vote count of 251 in favor to 170 against, with 37 Democrats joining the GOP majority in favor of the legislation.
“It should pass the Senate. That doesn’t mean it will or it would, but it should. This is common sense legislation. This is good legislation, and this can help our local law enforcement so I would hope that the Senate would look at it from that standpoint,” commented US Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who sponsored the bill.
“There’s nothing wrong with this bill. There’s nothing I could see that they could point at and say ‘That’s wrong,’ with this bill. And if we can pass this, we should pass it. It’s got a good chance of helping save a life,” he added.
Reflecting on the broader implications of Riley’s death, another Republican, Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, blasted the current administration’s policies.
“Laken Riley is not here with us anymore because of Biden’s failed policies. It’s about border security more than immigration. So, we need to look at what can we do if he is not going to secure the border,” he said.
“Her murderer was arrested in New York City weeks before and was released. Why shouldn’t he have been deported at that moment, by committing a crime?” Loudermilk added.
An ICE spokesperson, Lindsay Williams, detailed to Ibarra’s encounters with law enforcement.
“Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old citizen of Venezuela, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 8, 2022, after unlawfully entering the United States near El Paso, Texas. He was paroled and released for further processing,” she said.
“On Aug. 31, 2023, Ibarra was arrested by the New York Police Department and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. He was released by the NYPD before a detainer could be issued,” the official explained further.
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