Washington, D.C. – Today, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 7511, the Laken Riley Act, legislation to give ICE and state governments more tools in the fight against illegal alien crime. The bill passed overwhelmingly, 251-170, with 37 Democrats joining all Republicans in support.

During debate, Representative Mike Collins (R-Ga.), who authored the bill, urged his colleagues to support it and to continue fighting for the American people against the lawlessness created by President Biden's border policies.

Key excerpts:

"While we can't bring Laken back, we must now turn our focus to doing everything we can to prevent this from happening to another American."

"The Laken Riley Act is a key piece in our fight to restore the rule of law and get criminal illegal aliens off our streets."

"Colleagues, today we act on behalf of those who are no longer with us because of Joe Biden’s policies."

"Let’s continue to pray for her family and friends as they grieve her loss and resolve to continue to fight for the American people against the lawlessness created by this administration."

"Let’s ensure justice for Laken Riley."

Background

The Laken Riley Act does three things:

• It condemns President Joe Biden's border policies, including catch and release, and calls on him to reinstate "Remain in Mexico."
• It would amend federal law to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers and take custody of illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes, such as shoplifting, as defined by state and local law.
• It allows state Attorneys General to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements, or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens.

The bill directly addresses one of the federal policy issues related to Laken Riley's murder. As is widely reported, Jose Ibarra was cited for shoplifting by the Athens Police Department prior to killing Ms. Riley. If local law enforcement had called ICE, and ICE issued a detainer and picked him up, Laken Riley would be alive.