Quote:On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act by a vote of 251 to 170, with all the Nays coming from Democrats.

The bill was named after the 22-year-old student who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant earlier this month.

If passed, the legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to force the Department of Homeland Security to detain anyone who entered the country unlawfully and "is charged with, is arrested for, is convicted of, admits having committed, or admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of any burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting offense."

"The Secretary of Homeland Security," it states, "shall issue a detainer for an alien described in paragraph (1)(E) and, if the alien is not otherwise detained by Federal, State, or local officials, shall effectively and expeditiously take custody of the alien."

Following the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed those who sided against the bipartisan legislation.

"170 House Democrats just voted against the Laken Riley Act, refusing to require the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants who have been caught committing a crime," he wrote in a post on X. "Sadly, if these Democrats have their way, there will be more victims like Laken Riley."

"Doesn't it seem odd to vote against deporting illegal immigrants who commit a crime?" Elon Musk added.

Riley's alleged killer, Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra, was taken into custody shortly after the Augusta University nursing student's body was discovered near a lake on February 22.

He entered the United States illegally in September, and is currently being held without bond. He was arrested for theft by shoplifting in October, but released by authorities.

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I understand the need for the legislation, but I don't see how it would matter.

Sanctuary cities/states disregard federal law by willfully choosing NOT to hand people over to ICE.


Unless I'm reading it wrong.

To me, the vote is telling. The American Left is making it more and more apparent that they hate they American people, and sadly, a large percentage of the American people align themselves with the American Left. I commend the 37 Democrats who joined the Republicans in the House of Representatives to pass this bill.