Passing the Laken Riley Act Is a Step in the Right Direction
If you enter America illegally and proceed to commit crimes, you should get outta here.
The House of Representatives just passed a common-sense immigration bill, dubbed the Laken Riley Act. The bill is named after a 22-year-old nursing student from Athens, Georgia, who was appallingly murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant. This immigrant, Jose Antonio Ibarra by name, crossed the border illegally and was subsequently arrested, but he was released after being granted temporary permission to remain in the country. Ibarra would end up committing lower-level crimes including driving under the influence and shoplifting in the aftermath of his release, culminating in his murder of Riley.
Ibarra was arrested three times before he killed Riley. If he had been detained and deported upon any of his arrests, Riley never would been murdered. Hers was a preventable death.
Thankfully, Congress is stepping up to ensure cases like these cannot happen again. Though the House had passed an earlier version of the Laken Riley Act last March on a bipartisan basis, the bill ended up going nowhere. Now, the 119th Congress has passed this bill again with even greater bipartisan support than last time. All Republicans and 48 Democrats voted for the bill. That’s 264 representatives in favor with 159 against.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it will require 60 senators to give the bill the thumbs up if it receives a filibuster. The bill can count on 53 Republican Senators to vote for the bill, and there’s already some Democratic support too. Sen. Ruben Gallego and Sen. Elissa Slotkin voted for this bill while they served in the House last year, so they are definitely likely voters. Sen. Gary Peters has signaled he will vote for the act. Sen. John Fetterman has explicitly supported the bill and even co-sponsored it. He told Politico, “No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to preventable violence…. I support giving authorities the tools to prevent tragedies like this one….”
Fetterman’s rhetoric is a welcome sign. More Democrats ought to follow his example. The Laken Riley Act is a great first step toward addressing the out-of-control inflow of illegal immigrants.
Though his last year has seen a decrease in migrant encounters at the border, President Biden’s term has been marked by record-breaking border crossings. Not since 2000 have there been comparable numbers.
To make things even worse, deportations per year during most of Biden’s term have been at record lows. Deportations picked up in Biden’s fourth year, but the immigration policies of his administration have been weak through and through.
If the government is going to do its job and deal with the shocking numbers of illegal immigrants that have flocked their way through the border, deportations will have to become more frequent. Ensuring that illegal immigrants who commit crimes get detained and deported won’t lead to a radically greater number of migrant expulsions, but it will lead to protecting Americans from the truly bad apples in the bunch.
Democrats who oppose this bill say they are worried about migrants being deported who haven’t committed any crimes (besides entering the U.S. illegally, of course). Rep. Jamie Raskin has argued the act could lead to scenarios where a migrant who has resided in the country for most of their life and established themselves in their communities could end up wrongfully arrested and deported as a result. When you factor in the reality that the vast majority of illegal immigrants live in households where a relative is present, the idea of this happening can surely be disheartening.
Solving illegal immigration is certainly tricky. And considering the familial situations of so many migrants, perhaps mass deportations like President-elect Trump is proposing may not be the wisest decision. But still, if a situation like Raskin described actually did happen, there is a surefire way that would have prevented such issues: The migrant never should crossed the border illegally in the first place.
I’m open to giving amnesty to illegal immigrants who have lived here for years—provided we crack down on the border first. I don’t like the idea of separating millions of families. That said, the Laken Riley Act is not going to result in nightmare scenarios like the bill’s critics envision. Sure, it is possible that illegal immigrants like the ones Raskin described could end up deported, but those cases would be extremely rare. And besides, since entering the country illegally is in fact illegal, these immigrants would simply be suffering a delayed consequence for their poor decisions. Furthermore, considering that the bill will lead to criminals being deported and preventing tragedies like Laken Riley’s murder from happening again, the pros monumentally outweigh any sort of perceived con.
It is time for Democrats to stop their trend of hindering efforts at border security and expelling illegal immigrants. Those who have stepped up so far to support the Laken Riley Act reveal a growing willingness to work with Republicans on immigration. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been opening the door for Democrats to negotiate with Republicans on the bill. This is good news.
The Laken Riley Act sends a clear message: If you’re here illegally and start committing crimes, it’s time to take the bus south (or the plane far east or west). It is a good bill that ought to be approved by Congress and signed into law by Trump upon assuming office. Democrats have an opportunity to demonstrate that Congress can still legislate effectively and set an example of good governance. They would also be contributing towards getting dangerous illegal aliens off of American streets. If Democrats want to start getting their momentum back and take back Congress in 2026 (which I don’t necessarily favor), then it would be prudent for them to back a common-sense bill like this.
The course of action is obvious. Let’s pass the Laken Riley Act.
Correction: An earlier version of this column stupidly misspelled Laken Riley’s first name as “Lanken.” The author of this column (LonePundit) has been disciplined and reprimanded by the editorial staff (also LonePundit). This oversight is much regretted.