The Georgia state Senate hosted Laken Riley’s father, Jason Riley, in its chambers, and he asked it to act on the over a million immigrants “making families nervous.”
The University of Georgia student’s body was discovered on campus on Feb. 22. Riley was allegedly murdered by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant living near campus who has been arrested in connection to her death. Ibarra faces charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another.
“God gave me a beautiful daughter to father protect, provide for, and nurture. A man with an evil heart stole her life. He was in this country and in this state illegally,” Riley told the senate. “My vision for every senator in this chamber is that you protect citizens from this illegal invasion. Please recognize over a million illegal aliens are in this state and making families nervous.”
Laken Riley’s father speaks before the Georgia State Senate:
“I stand before you a heartbroken man…Governor Kemp, please declare an invasion to detain and deport criminal illegals!” pic.twitter.com/vF8kZAA5MU
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 21, 2024
Riley acknowledged the actions taken on Riley’s behalf, such as the passage of House Bill 1105, which allows for local authorities to detain immigrants for deportation should they find they are not legal residents. Should any office not report the legal status of an immigrant in its custody, they could “be subject to the withholding of state funding or state administered federal funding” per the bill. The legislation was drafted by six Republicans and passed 97-74. Only one Democratic member voted for the measure.
“Please recognize Athens Clark is a sanctuary city, and this policy and the lack of action led to the murder of my daughter,” Riley said. “Gov. Kemp, please declare an invasion to detain and report criminal illegals so we can prevent future families from those tragedies.”
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Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) has not responded directly to Riley’s demands but wrote on X on Thursday that “Joe Biden doesn’t need an act of Congress to make his Department of Homeland Security do its job.”
Athens, Georgia, where Riley was killed, has been a sanctuary city since 2019, when the government passed a resolution declaring all immigrants welcome regardless of if they were legal.