Laken Riley Act

On February 22, 2024, Georgia resident Laken Riley was murdered by José Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan 26-year-old man,^[7] who had entered the United States illegally in September 2022 by crossing the United States' southern border with Mexico near El Paso, Texas.^[8] Before the murder, Ibarra had been charged with "acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation" in New York City^[9] for "driving a scooter without a license and with a child who was not wearing a helmet."^[7] In 2023, he was arrested on charges of shoplifting in Athens, Georgia.^[7]

The murder gained attention from both politicians and the media because Ibarra entered the United States illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated that it had issued a detainer for Ibarra after he was arrested in New York City. However, local officials released him before he could be taken into custody.^[10][4][11]

The act requires that the Department of Homeland Security, through Immigration and Customs Enforcement, detain certain non-citizen aliens without bail during their immigration proceedings. Previously, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 required that aliens who had committed certain crimes (e.g., aggravated felonies, drug and firearm violations, or human trafficking) be detained without bail while their immigration proceedings were pending.^[12]

The act expands this requirement to apply to any alien who "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, shoplifting, or assault of a law enforcement officer offense, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person." The act also allows states to take legal action against the federal government if they determine it is in "violation of the detention and removal requirements" of the act.^[13]

The amended version, which passed the Senate on January 20, includes the Cornyn Amendment, which provides for detaining aliens who are charged with or convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer, and the Ernst Amendment (nicknamed "Sarah's Law"), which includes detaining aliens who are charged with or convicted of a crime that results in death or serious bodily injury like manslaughter resulting from driving under the influence.^[14][15]

The bill was initially introduced in the House of Representatives in the 118th Congress and was named in honor of Laken Riley. It passed the House on March 7, 2024, by a vote of 251–170, with 37 Democrats (out of 213 total or 17% of Democrats) and all Republicans voting in favor of the bill.^[11] The bill stalled amidst opposition in the then Democratic-controlled Senate of the 118th Congress. The bill was reintroduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 29 and in the Senate as S. 5 (the two bills shared the same text and title). H.R. 29 passed the House by a vote of 264–159 on January 7, 2025, as the first bill passed in the 119th Congress. All Republicans and 48 Democrats (out of 212 total or 23% of Democrats) voted in favor of passage.^[4] Seven Democrats who had voted against the bill in the 118th Congress voted in favor in the 119th.^[16]

On January 8, Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved to proceed to the consideration of the Laken Riley Act. The next day, the Senate voted to limit debate on the motion to proceed, by a vote of 84–9, and on January 13, approved it by a vote of 82–10.^[17][18] On January 17, following a long debate stage that spanned multiple days, the Senate invoked cloture on the bill by a vote of 61–35, with 10 Democrats (out of 45 total or 22%) voting in favor alongside all Republicans present.^[19]

The Senate passed the amended bill version by a vote of 64–35 on January 20, with twelve Democrats (27% of Democrats) joining all Republicans.^[20] The Senate made two amendments to their version, one of which includes detaining unauthorized immigrants who are charged with or convicted of assaulting a police officer and another which provides for detaining unauthorized immigrants who are charged with or convicted of a crime that results in death or serious bodily injury like drunk driving.^[2][3] The House concurred in the Senate version on January 22, with 46 Democrats joining all Republicans.^[5] President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on January 29, 2025.^[6]

The Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Association of Mature American Citizens supported the bill.^[21][22] Laken Riley's mother, Allyson Phillips, stated that she was grateful the law was passed.^[23]

The American Immigration Council, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the National Education Association, the National Organization for Women, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the United Steelworkers, the United Church of Christ, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Council of Churches, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Center for Law and Social Policy, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights all opposed the bill.^[24][25][26] Critics of the bill expressed concern that it required the detention of non-citizens who are arrested or charged, as opposed to actually convicted, of a crime.^[27][28][29]

As of December 2025, reportedly 17,500 non-citizens had been detained and/or turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detention and processing under the provisions of the Act.^[30] In September 2025, Judge Indira Talwani granted a petition for habeas corpus by an 18-year-old held under the act.^[31][32]

• Deportation in the second Trump administration
• Habeas corpus in the United States
• Illegal immigration to the United States and crime
• List of United States immigration and nationality laws
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