Who was Laken Riley? The reason why the new immigration bill is named after her

The Laken Riley Act, passed by the House of Representatives for the second time on January 7, 2025, was the first legislation approved during Congress’s new session, which began on January 3, 2025. The bill is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University in Georgia, who was tragically killed in February 2024 by José Antonio Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant.

Ibarra, an immigrant of Venezuelan origin, was arrested and convicted of Laken Riley’s murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ibarra had been detained by law enforcement officials in New York and Georgia after being released by US Customs and Border Patrol during an attempt to enter the United States.

Laken Riley Act and the politics of immigration

The Trump administration has emphasized deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records, and this legislation is designed to facilitate that goal. Critics, however, argue that while such measures address specific cases, they do not significantly impact overall crime rates.

Republican lawmakers have seized on Riley’s murder as proof of supposed shortcomings in President Biden’s border policies.

Leaders within the GOP, including the president-elect, have claimed that a surge in violent crime driven by undocumented immigrants is taking place across the country. While Riley’s death is a tragedy, some Democratic lawmakers have voiced opposition to the bill, calling it ineffectual and dangerous to immigrant communities.

Immigration hardliners, including the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) warn that such rhetoric should be avoided as it undermines the victims and their families who are impacted by violent crimes carried out by immigrants. Following similar logic, the CIS also rejects arguments from progressives that center on the lower offending rates of undocumented immigrants. A report published in September 2024 by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), part of the Justice Department, analyzed violent crime rates in Texas from 2012 to 2018. The report found that undocumented immigrants committed violent crimes at rates significantly lower than U.S.-born citizens and lawful permanent residents.

When examining offenses such as assault, sexual assault, robbery, burglary, theft, and arson, the report revealed that “rates of undocumented immigrants were consistently lower than both U.S.-born citizens and documented immigrants.” Specifically, the rate for undocumented residents was approximately half that of U.S. citizens.

The legislation’s potential impacts

The Laken Riley Act seeks to limit the release of undocumented individuals who have been arrested for crimes in the U.S. According to Congress.gov, the legislation prohibits the release of individuals who:

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the “Catch and Release” program, which allows some migrants to remain free while awaiting immigration hearings. The Laken Riley Act aligns with this promise, ensuring that those arrested for crimes are held in custody, potentially paving the way for expedited deportation.

However, immigrant rights organizations and some Democratic leaders who voted against the bill have shed light on some of the ways the legislation could be used beyond the purposes argued publically by advocates.

One of the main arguments brought against the legislation is that it allows immigrants, including Dreamers, who aren’t even found guilty, to be deported immediately.

Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (AZ-D) underscored that Riley’s murder is a “horrific tragedy” but explained her no vote, stating that the bill “pushed by the House Republicans will do nothing to prevent this kind of violence or reform our broken immigration system” and views the additional powers granted “as a license to discriminate against our immigrant communities, including Dreamers.”

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