The Senate on Monday inched closer to final passage of the Laken Riley Act, which would require immigration authorities to detain undocumented immigrants who commit theft, shoplifting and other related crimes.
Lawmakers voted 82-10 to consider the bill, with dozens of Democrats in addition to Republicans voting in favor.
“The bipartisan Laken Riley Act not only addresses the glaring holes in our nation's immigration policy, it also promises to prevent other families from experiencing the pain that Laken Riley's family endured.” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota).
The bill, named after a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was attacked, violently strangled and bludgeoned to death by an illegal immigrant while jogging in February 2024, sparked national outrage.
Torren de Aragua gangster Jose Ibarra, 26, was found guilty of Riley's murder and sentenced to life in prison in November.
Ybarra had had previous run-ins with the law before attacking Riley. For example, he was arrested on child endangerment charges after he rode his moped through the streets of Queens holding his wife's 5-year-old son for dear life, law enforcement sources previously told the Post.
Months before Riley's murder, Ybarra appeared in court in December 2023 on shoplifting charges in Georgia.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials later explained that Ybarra was not detained after his arrest in New York because he was released before authorities could issue a detainer.
Authorities also revealed that Ybarra illegally crossed the southern border into El Paso, Texas, on September 8, 2022, and was later released due to insufficient detention space.
Republicans and other critics have cited Riley's killing as evidence of the failures of the Biden administration's border and immigration policies.
The Laken-Riley Act is intended to prevent such situations from happening again.
The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for damages resulting from failure to enforce immigration laws.
The Republican-controlled House passed a similar bill last year, but it was not taken up in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Now that Republicans have control of the Senate, they hope to put the bill on the table for President-elect Donald Trump to sign into law when he takes office next week.
