Britt, Strong join President Trump as he signs Laken Riley Act into law
WASHINGTON (WHNT) — Representative Dale Strong and Senator Katie Britt joined President Donald Trump as he signed the Laken Riley Act into law on Wednesday.
The Laken Riley Act is the 49th Presidential administration's first piece of legislation in his new term.
The legislation is named for Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who went out for a run in February 2024 and was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally. Ibarra was found guilty in November and sentenced to life without parole.
On Jan. 7, Britt introduced the bill to the 119th Congress. On Congress.gov, the requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to 'detain an individual who is unlawfully present in the United States or did not possess the necessary documents when applying for admission; and has been charged with, arrested for, convicted for, or admits to having committed acts that constitute the essential elements of burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.'
'The bill also authorizes state governments to sue for injunctive relief over certain immigration-related decisions or alleged failures by the federal government if the decision or failure caused the state or its residents harm, including financial harm of more than $100. Specifically, the state government may sue the federal government over a:
decision to release a non-U. S. national from custody;
failure to fulfill requirements relating to inspecting individuals seeking admission into the United States, including requirements related to asylum interviews;
failure to fulfill a requirement to stop issuing visas to nationals of a country that unreasonably denies or delays acceptance of nationals of that country;
violation of limitations on immigration parole, such as the requirement that parole be granted only on a case-by-case basis; or
failure to detain an individual who has been ordered removed from the United States.'
Congress.gov
After the House passed the bill, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said it was 'the right thing to do.'
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