Congressional Republicans are speeding their first immigration crackdown bill through Congress with an initial vote scheduled later this week on the Laken Riley Act, which would pressure Homeland Security to detain and deport illegal immigrants who shoplift or steal.
Sen. Katie Britt, Alabama Republican, announced a Senate version of the bill on Tuesday and Rep. Mike Collins, Georgia Republican, announced the House version.
House GOP leaders have already slated it for a floor vote on Tuesday, and given the backing of new Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the bill will likely see fast action in the upper chamber, too.
Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, was slain last year by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who was caught and released by the Biden administration and was protected by sanctuary-city policies that allowed him to amass a lengthy rap sheet while free in the U.S.
The killing helped elevate illegal immigration, already a simmering issue, into a crisis for the Biden administration and a powerful political message for Republicans.
“The American people did not just deliver a mandate on November 5, they delivered a verdict. They made it clear they want to remove criminal illegal aliens and protect American families. We will soon know whether Democrats hear, respect and obey that verdict,” Ms. Britt said.
Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was convicted of Riley’s killing and sentenced to life in prison. He sneaked into the U.S. on Sept. 8, 2022, and was released a day later under one of President Biden’s “parole” programs that catches and releases illegal immigrants.
In 2023, he tallied an arrest in New York City for endangering a child, then a month later racked up a shoplifting charge in Georgia. Two months after that, he failed to show up for court.
Despite those entanglements, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not move to arrest him — and Homeland Security actually issued him a work permit in December 2023, giving him a new tool to burrow into the community ahead of Riley’s murder.
“An illegal criminal came into my district and killed Laken Riley because our local law enforcement did not have the tools to stop him,” Mr. Collins said. “Laken fought until her last breath, and so will I until this bill crosses the finish line and lands on the president’s desk.”
The Laken Riley Act would push ICE to arrest and detain illegal immigrants who commit shoplifting, burglary, larceny or theft offenses.
It would also create an avenue for states to bring a civil case in court against federal officials who refuse to enforce immigration law.
More than 40 Senate Republicans are backing the bill, including Mr. Thune, of South Dakota, and Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina.
“As we turn the page from the disastrous open-border policies of Joe Biden, the Laken Riley Act will empower the Trump administration to enforce our laws, keep our nation secure, and prevent tragedies,” Mr. Budd said.
A version of the Laken Riley Act was approved in the GOP-led House last year in a 251-170 vote. More than three dozen Democrats backed it.
It never saw a vote in the Democrat-led Senate.
Its passage in the House this week is virtually certain.
Mr. Thune on Monday began the process of placing the Senate version of the bill on the calendar, which does not guarantee a vote but allows bills to skip committee and be brought directly to the floor.
It would have to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold to win passage in the Senate. That would require the support of at least eight members of the Democratic Caucus.
Sen. John Fetterman, Pennsylvania Democrat, is co-sponsoring the bill along with nearly every Senate Republican.
Allyson and John Phillips, Riley’s mother and stepfather, urged Congress to approve the bill, calling it a way to honor their daughter.
“Every single member of Congress should be able to get behind this purely commonsense bill that will make our country and communities safer,” they said.
• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.