Senator Katie Britt urged Senate Democrats to vote on the Laken Riley Act, which would require deporting illegal immigrants convicted of certain property crimes.
The bill is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old student murdered allegedly by illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra.
Ibarra was initially released into the US due to lack of detention space, then obtained a work permit despite a prior criminal history and arrest for endangering a child.
Two months later, he was indicted for Riley’s kidnapping, attempted rape, and brutal murder.
Britt said the bipartisan bill, which passed the House with Democratic support, aims to prevent such tragedies but Democrats refused to allow a Senate vote.
“The Laken Riley Act is the bipartisan border bill that should be on the Senate floor today,” Britt said. “I am proud to be the lead Senate sponsor of this critical legislation, along with my colleague from North Carolina [Sen. Ted Budd]. The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion.”
“The gentleman from Georgia Congressional District 10 [Rep. Mike Collins] secured 37 Democratic votes for this bill on the House floor. And here in the Senate, the bill is bipartisan, and has a cosponsor list of 47 Senators. I’m confident that a bipartisan majority of Senators support the Laken Riley Act and would vote for it today,” Britt added.
Ibarra remains jailed, charged with murder and other felony counts in Riley’s death.
The case highlights failures in immigration enforcement that the Laken Riley Act seeks to address.
