Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) is introducing a bill that would require ICE to detain undocumented immigrants accused of local theft or robbery. After an immigrant accused of such a crime was released and later charged with the murder of an American college student.
The Laken Riley Act is named after Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was recently murdered on the University of Georgia campus. Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who was charged with the brutal murder, had been arrested multiple times before the murder but was not taken into custody by ICE.
Ybarra was arrested for driving under the influence and driving without a license before being charged with a felony, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said in a press release, citing an affidavit and criminal complaint against the immigrant. He was also arrested in October 2023 on suspicion of shoplifting, police said. Collins’ new bill would require ICE to detain Ybarra after those first crimes but before Riley’s death.
Collins, who represents Georgia’s Athens 10th Congressional District, where the attack occurred, said Riley’s killing was a “wake-up call” for the United States and the bill was an “unlawful crime” that he blamed on the ongoing border crisis. The aim is to counter the wave of .
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Laken Riley poses for a photo to post on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on February 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)
“The senseless murder of Laken Riley by Jose Ybarra, who didn’t need to come to this country, is a sign that Joe Biden’s open border and local sanctuary city policies have exposed Americans to a wave of illegal alien crime.” This was a new warning in the midst of the current situation.” Collins told Fox News Digital.
The lawmaker said the bill would work to prevent similar tragic incidents from occurring as a result of an open southern border.
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“We wish we could get Mr. Laken back, but right now we have to focus on making sure this doesn’t happen to other Americans,” the Republican continued. “That’s why I introduced the Laken-Riley Act.”
Congressman Mike Collins walks out of a House Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, May 23, 2023. (Bill Clark/Getty Images)
The Laken-Riley Act “requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers to illegal aliens who are indicted or accused of local theft or robbery. For crimes, ICE already has a requirement to issue detainers, but in Athens, Georgia State Police contacted Jose Ybarra when he was arrested on shoplifting charges. If he had come for him, Laken Riley would have lived.”
The bill would also allow states to take action against the federal government “if immigration-related actions harm the state or its people.”
“Allows states to sue the federal government for injunctive relief when immigration-related actions (such as violations of parole or detention requirements) harm the state or its people. “It provides legal resources to compel the federal government to address “border security,” a press release announcing the bill said.
Jose Ibarra was arrested on February 23rd in connection with the February 22nd murder of Laken Riley in Athens, Georgia. (Clark County Sheriff’s Office)
The House could vote on the bill as early as this week, the release added.
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Collins recently led Georgia’s congressional delegation in a moment of silence for Riley, pledging to continue to prevent similar incidents in the future.
