A group of Republican senators sought to reintroduce the Laken Riley Act, named after the college student slain by an illegal alien in Georgia. The bill would introduce stricter immigration measures, especially for migrants convicted of a crime.
Eleven Senate Republicans sought the Laken Riley Act to be reconsidered by the body. The bill would cause the federal detention of illegal immigrants charged with theft or burglary.
The senators wrote in the letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) that “during the Biden Administration and due to its policies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported over 7.8 million encounters with illegal aliens at the southern border.”
“That staggering number of encounters is larger than the individual populations of 37 states and larger than the number of people who live in any city throughout the United States other than New York City,” the letter continued.
Laken Riley should be alive today. She was murdered by someone who, in a just world, would have been jailed or deported for crossing the border illegally and committing several crimes before murdering Laken. https://t.co/uEcdYeGmoh
— Rachel Bovard (@rachelbovard) May 25, 2024
“The Laken Riley Act is the bipartisan border bill that should’ve been on the Senate floor this week. If this legislation had been the law of the land, Laken Riley would still be alive today,” said Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL).
The bill received considerable attention in Congress several months ago, although it appeared unlikely that President Joe Biden would sign it into law. Republican members of Congress pressured Biden to mention Riley’s name during his 2024 State of the Union address. The president did, but mispronounced her name, making it sound more like “Lincoln.”
The effort also received some Democratic Party support. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), who is up for reelection this year, said that he would support the measure.
The reintroduction of the bill is unlikely to pass, but it is possible that there will be more support for it amid a series of new crimes committed by migrants. News headlines earlier this year showed concern in New York City over the rising rate of crime in part caused by the illegal immigrant wave.
