Senators Katie Britt and Ted Budd Introduce Laken Riley Act in the Senate

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Mike Collins (R-Ga.) and Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) announced the introduction of the Senate companion to Collins' H.R. 7511, the Laken Riley Act.

"The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly and on a bipartisan basis," said Collins. "I am grateful to Senator Britt for taking the lead on getting this vital legislation through the Senate so we can put Laken Riley's name on Joe Biden's desk and take a step toward preventing this from happening to another American."

“Make no mistake – Laken Riley’s heartbreaking murder was a direct, preventable consequence of willful open border policies by President Biden and his administration. This commonsense legislation would ensure ICE detains and deports criminal illegal aliens, so more innocent American families do not have to face this kind of unimaginable tragedy,” said Senator Britt. “I am grateful for Representative Collins’ strong leadership and for Senator Budd’s partnership in introducing this Senate companion bill. Senator Schumer should bring this bill to the Senate floor immediately.”

“States should be able to protect their citizens from the Biden administration’s lawless, open border policies by seeking relief in federal court. That’s why I am joining Senator Britt to introduce the Senate version of the Laken Riley Act. We simply cannot tolerate any more senseless tragedies like this one. What happened to Laken Riley should never happen to any American citizen,” stated Senator Budd.

H.R. 7511 passed the House of Representatives on March 7 ahead of President Biden's State of the Union address by a vote of 251-170, with 37 Democrats joining all Republicans in support of the bill. The battle for change is now in the Senate.

Background

The Laken Riley Act is named for Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by an illegal alien on the campus of the University of Georgia on February 22. 

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 her 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 would be alive.