The House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, a bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration by requiring the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with crimes.
The House approved its first policy legislation of the new Congress on Tuesday with a bill aimed at addressing illegal immigration. The Laken Riley Act would require the Department of Homeland Security to take into custody undocumented immigrants who have been charged with theft and other crimes. The legislation is named for Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant last year.
A judge convicted the man, Jose Ibarra, on murder and other charges related to Riley's death in November. 'As promised, we're starting today with border security,' House Speaker Mike Johnson said ahead of the vote Tuesday, adding that lawmakers have 'a lot to do there to fix it' and noting that the Laken Riley Act 'is a big part of that.'In a 264 to 159 vote, the House approved the measure, with all voting Republicans and 48 Democrats supporting its passage. The legislation also includes a provision that would empower state attorneys general who claim their state or its residents have been harmed by immigration policies to sue the Department of Homeland Security.The House approved the legislation in March, with 37 House Democrats joining Republicans in support of its passage. But the bill stalled in the then-Democratic-controlled Senate. Johnson encouraged more Democrats to join Republicans this time around, saying the vote would be 'telling.''We're going to detain and deport illegal aliens who commit burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, certainly vicious and violent crimes, and I can't believe anybody would be opposed to that,' Johnson said. Riley's story became a rallying cry for the GOP during the lead-up to the 2024 election, while Democrats accused Republicans of using her death for political purposes. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said ahead of the vote Tuesday that 'the murder of Laken Riley was an unspeakable and appalling crime,' but he called the bill 'an empty and opportunistic measure'
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