Congress Approves Controversial Laken Riley Act
The legislation underscores the growing partisan divide over the country’s immigration policies.
The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a bill that mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of committing theft or violent crimes, marking a significant victory for President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
The legislation, known as the Laken Riley Act, was approved with limited bipartisan support, underscoring the growing partisan divide over the country’s immigration policies.
The Laken Riley Act, named in memory of Laken Riley, a nursing student from Georgia who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan national, reflects the dramatic shift in the national debate on immigration.
Once an issue with broad partisan contention, immigration reform has increasingly become a rallying point for conservatives following Trump’s election. The bill passed with 46 Democrats siding with Republicans to secure a 263-156 vote, signaling a growing alignment with Trump’s tougher stance on immigration.
While the bill has received praise from those who argue it strengthens public safety, critics have raised serious concerns about its potential consequences.
The American Immigration Council, a nonprofit advocacy group, criticized the legislation for undermining due process protections. Under the new law, immigrants accused of low-level crimes such as shoplifting—without having been convicted—could face indefinite detention, potentially including children wrongfully accused of offenses.
“This bill does nothing to improve safety or fix our broken immigration system,” said Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council. “Under the guise of preventing violence, the bill forces immigration officers to indefinitely detain and deport non-citizens who pose no public safety risk, without access to basic due process.”
The Laken Riley Act also grants state attorneys general the ability to sue the federal government if they believe their states have been harmed by inadequate enforcement of immigration laws. Additionally, states could sue the Department of Homeland Security if they believe illegal immigration has caused harm to citizens.
This legislation is part of a broader effort in Washington to reshape the nation’s approach to immigration, an issue that became a central theme in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
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