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What is the 'Laken Riley Act,' and what does it aim to accomplish?
The Laken Riley Act (H.R. 29) proposes to alter immigration policy to disproportionately react to minor offenses committed by undocumented immigrants and expand immigration detention. It serves to demonize migrants and paint them as criminals, despite the absence of a relationship between immigration status and criminality.
The first bill passed by the House of Representatives in the first session of Congress in 2025 was the Laken Riley Act (H.R. 29 of the 119th Congress), which will now move to be considered and voted by the Senate.
Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered on the University of Georgia campus in February 2024. Jose Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant, was charged and convicted of the murder. Ibarra had previously been cited for felony shoplifting.
Georgia Rep. Collins twice introduced a bill by the name of Laken Riley that includes the following elements:
● Amends immigration law to direct Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers and take custody of undocumented migrant persons who are charged, detained, or admit to committing acts that constitute property crimes, such as burglary, fraud, or shoplifting, as defined by state or local law, if federal, state, or local authorities do not apprehend them.
● Authorizes state Attorneys General to initiate legal action against the Secretary of Homeland Security to seek injunctive relief when immigration actions, such as provisional release or entry clearance, releases of migrant persons, or other actions in the implementation of policies, cause harm to states or their citizens exceeding $100.
On January 7, 2025, the House of Representatives passed this bill. The initiative received 264 votes in favor and 159 votes against. The bill was approved with the favorable vote of the entire Republican caucus and 48 Democratic representatives:
Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Janelle Bynum (OR-05), Jim Costa (CA-21), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Angie Craig (MN-02), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Don Davis (NC-01), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Shomari Figures (AL-02), Laura Gillen (NY-04), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Jared Golden (ME-02), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Adam Gray (CA-13), Josh Harder (CA-09), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Susie Lee (NV-03), Mike Levin (CA-49), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), John W. Mannion (NY-22), Lucy McBath (GA-06), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), Dave Min (CA-47), Joseph D. Morelle (NY-25), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Frank J. Mrvan (IN-01), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Josh Riley (NY-19), Hillary Scholten (MI-03), Kim Schrier (WA-08), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Tom Suozzi (NY-03), Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Dina Titus (NV-01), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Derek Tran (CA-45), and George Whitesides (CA-27).
Establishing mandatory immigration detention in cases of theft will increase immigration detention and eliminate the discretionary power of immigration authorities to release immigrants facing deportation proceedings on parole or bond, in consideration of the seriousness of the criminal offense and their family ties.
Mandatory immigration detention upon indictment or arrest for theft is an extreme measure disproportionate to the seriousness of the crime. As a result of this law, migrants who are found innocent or whose charges are dismissed by the prosecutors themselves may be deprived of their liberty for months as the criminal investigation progresses. This law will increase immigration detention, which will profit private detention facilities and generate more expenses for minor crimes, in which, in most cases, deprivation of liberty is not considered necessary.
This bill will result in the deportation of people for minor crimes, such as theft out of hunger or desperation, which generally has no immigration consequences.
This bill will exacerbate racial inequities because we know Black people and people with darker skin are arrested at higher rates in the U.S., and if they are immigrants, they will face long periods in immigration detention.
This bill goes against its objective of achieving justice and safety. Individuals charged with theft will not be able to appear at criminal hearings because they are deprived of their liberty for immigration reasons. Under current circumstances, it is particularly difficult for prosecutors to get people in immigration detention to appear in criminal court when they have criminal proceedings pending against them.
Allowing states to sue the federal government for the actions of migrants who were allowed to enter the country or were released from detention will result in frequent legal actions by Attorneys General of the party opposing the federal government.
The executive will face significant challenges to immigration policy by legitimizing state Attorneys General to sue the federal government, alleging economic damages in excess of $100. This will flood the courts with frivolous lawsuits based on politically motivated immigration pretexts.
Having 48 democrats vote for this bill shows the continued embrace by both parties of anti-immigrant policies that do not address the real issues that people in the U.S. face today. These policies do not address the root causes of migration, and they do not make the country any safer.
The Republican Party took advantage of this crime and the commotion it caused at the local level to insist on its demonization campaign against immigrants.
Isolated cases of violent crimes against young American women by immigrant men are used to demonize immigrant communities. This is a political tactic to continue to paint immigrants as criminals and threats to society. This is false and biased.
The causes of violent crime are not associated with the offender's nationality. This bill will not prevent violent crimes, which in general are not committed by people who have previously committed shoplifting or robbery.
Black people and people of Latin American origin are already overpoliced. This bill gives xenophobic and racist governments more power to continue targeting these communities.
There is no relationship between immigration status and criminality. In fact, in the United States, immigrants commit proportionately less crime than U.S. citizens.
This rule will not prevent criminal acts, contribute to community safety, or reduce the number of immigration detainees for minor offenses. Instead, it will result in longer immigration detention for minor offenses and frivolous lawsuits, which will clog the courts, paralyze the executive branch, and overburden immigration enforcement agencies.
The Laken Riley Act hurts everyone in the U.S.
