The House passed on Thursday the Laken Riley Act, which would require immigration officials to detain immigrants charged with crimes following the death of a nursing student on the University of Georgia campus — the latest win for Republicans as they continue to rebuke the Biden administration’s border policies.
House Republicans overwhelmingly voted in favor of the bill, passing 251 to 170. Thirty-seven Democrats supported the legislation. The bill is one of several efforts from House GOP members to address the influx of illegal immigrants and an uptick in crime in several cities, such as New York.
The bill is named in honor of Laken Riley, 22. She was allegedly killed by a Venezuelan immigrant who had been arrested in 2022 for illegally crossing the border.
Riley and other victims of immigrant-related crimes are a major focus for Republicans, particularly ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Immigration and border security are at the top of GOP members’ minds as they prepare for Biden’s speech, especially because the president blamed perceived inaction at the southern border on Republican infighting and inability to work across the aisle.
“Laken Riley would still be alive if the Biden Administration had done its job. House Republicans are not going to stand by quietly while the President and his administration release dangerous criminals into our communities,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement following the bill’s passage. “The Laken Riley Act would help prevent future tragedies. If Senator Schumer and President Biden care to protect Americans and are serious about securing the border, they will bring this legislation up for a vote and sign it into law immediately.”
At least one lawmaker, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), has called on Biden to say Riley’s name during the address. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) told the Washington Examiner ahead of the State of the Union that he hopes Biden will say the nursing student’s name and those of other victims, as well, stating that there is not just a “connection” between immigrants and rising crime.
“This is a clear tragedy that’s going on,” Moore said. “I hope he could rise above politics and absolutely mention her name and other victims … that have been victimized in multiple ways.”
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Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who held a moment of silence on the House floor for Riley, invited her parents to the State of the Union as his guests, but they declined to attend. Instead, Collins said Wednesday that his guest seat would remain vacant “to honor Laken and all American victims of illegal alien crime.”
Riley’s death, in particular, sparked national outrage among Republicans, who have blamed it and similar acts of violence on Biden’s perceived lack of border security policies. Her death reignited a debate on how to address the surge of illegal crossings, with GOP lawmakers calling on the president to reinstate Trump-era measures.