Laken Riley Act: House passes new immigration bill

The House passed a new immigration bill Thursday ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address that is named after the nursing student killed last month at the University of Georgia.

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The bill was sponsored by Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, according to WSB-TV.

It was named after Laken Riley, 22, a nursing student who was killed on the campus of the University of Georgia on Feb. 22. Police said she was killed by an undocumented migrant, according to the news outlet.

Riley’s death has become a topic for Donald Trump at his rallies after Jose Ibarra was arrested. According to The Associated Press, Ibarra was from Venezuela and had come into the United States illegally. He was reportedly allowed to stay in the country because of his immigration case. Ibarra has not yet entered a plea to his charges.

Ibarra was arrested by police in New York back in August and was charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said, according to the AP. Ibarra was then released and that was before U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement was able to get New York officials to hold him until they could take him into custody. Officials in New York reportedly don’t have an arrest record for him.

The hope with the new bill is that states will be allowed to sue the federal government for crimes that immigrants who come into the country illegally commit.

“Laken is just one of the tragic examples of innocent American citizens who have lost their lives, been brutally and violently attacked by illegal criminals who are roaming our streets,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said, according to the AP.

The bill passed with 251 in favor. It included 37 Democrats and all House Republicans.

“While we can’t bring Laken back, we must now turn our focus to doing everything we can to prevent this from happening to another American,” Collins said in a statement, according to WSB-TV. “The Laken Riley Act is a key piece in our fight to restore the rule of law and get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.”

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