Republicans made sure that Laken Riley, the nursing student whose killing has been blamed on an illegal immigrant, would be part of President Biden’s State of the Union day.
Hours before Mr. Biden was slated to speak, the House passed the Laken Riley Act, which blames the president for her death and imposes new rules that could have prevented the catch-and-release of the Venezuelan migrant now accused of slaying Riley, who was killed two weeks ago while out for a morning run on a college campus in Georgia.
The vote highlighted the power of Riley’s death, with more than three dozen Democrats joining Republicans in the 251-170 vote to pass the bill.
“Laken Riley’s death was foreordained the day that this administration took office and reversed the successful Trump policies that had finally secured our borders,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, California Republican.
He ticked off the criminal history of Jose Ibarra, the man who was caught and released under Mr. Biden’s border policies and now stands charged with Riley’s killing. In addition to being an illegal immigrant, Mr. Ibarra had several run-ins with the police after he was caught and released, but was never detained, allowing him to be out in the community when Riley was slain on Feb. 22.
Authorities this week revealed his brother Diego Ibarra, also caught and released at the border and probed in the Riley homicide investigation, attempted to bite a Border Patrol agent. He later cut off his ankle monitoring bracelet and absconded from deportation agents, obtained a handgun here in the U.S. and has tattoos and social media posts connecting him to a Venezuelan gang.
SEE ALSO: Parents of Laken Riley say no to State of the Union invitation
“How many such monsters has this president allowed into our country? We do not know, but we are slowly, painfully and tragically finding out, victim by victim,” Mr. McClintock said.
The bill that passed the House rebukes Mr. Biden for his management of the border and demands he end catch-and-release policies.
It also would require Homeland Security to detain any illegal immigrant already in the country who is arrested for theft. And it would create legal standing for states to sue the federal government to demand compliance with immigration laws.
Despite the significant Democratic support, the legislation is a long shot to see action in the Democrat-led Senate.
Still, the symbolism of the vote just hours before Mr. Biden addressed the nation from the same chamber was striking.
“Laken Riley is dead because of Joe Biden’s policies,” said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey Republican.
SEE ALSO: Speaker Mike Johnson discourages heckling at State of the Union
Her killing and a spate of other high-profile crimes blamed on illegal immigrants have finally cut through a years-long gridlock on immigration, delivering a poignant victim to what is often portrayed as a victimless crime.
Republicans have demanded Mr. Biden acknowledge Riley’s death and use it as an inflection point to reverse three years of border chaos.
Most Democrats avoided the House floor during the debate, leaving Rep. Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, to argue against the bill.
He expressed condolences to Riley’s family and said her killer should be prosecuted, but he accused Republicans of “exploiting her death” and called the bill “unserious.”
He said the bill would apply to illegal immigrants accused of crimes even if they aren’t yet convicted. He said that could even snare an illegal immigrant Dreamer who’d been in the country for decades, and who could eventually be exonerated.
“The case of Laken Riley is a tragedy, but as is often said, bad cases make bad law,” he said.
Republicans said Mr. Nadler was conflating illegal immigrants with American citizens in demanding due process.
“The people involved here have no right to be in the county,” said Rep. Dan Bishop, North Carolina Republican.
Republicans’ vehemence ran so high during the debate that the acting speaker delivered repeated warnings to Republicans to remember the rules of decorum.
Republicans admitted that ordering the Biden administration to detain illegal immigrants accused of theft might be futile. Similar mandates are already on the books for other crimes, yet are often flouted as Homeland Security says it lacks money for beds to hold all the criminal migrants.
GOP lawmakers said that’s why they included language in the bill that would give state attorneys general legal standing to sue over catch-and-release and other Biden policies.
The intent is to roll back a Supreme Court ruling last year that found Texas did not have standing to sue to stop Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s policy declaring that being in the country illegally was no longer a stand-alone reason for deportation and ordering agents and officers to look for reasons not to deport someone.
Mr. Nadler said the provision was likely illegal.
Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican who represents Athens, Georgia, where Riley lived, invited her parents to attend the State of the Union but he said they declined.
He said he would leave the seat empty as a memorial to Riley and other “American victims of illegal alien crime.”
“As Joe Biden attempts to paint a rosy picture of the crime-ridden country he has created, he will look up at an empty seat that memorializes those we’ve lost because of his open border policies,” he said on social media.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.