Senate Majority Leader John Thune revealed to the Daily Caller News Foundation Monday that the Senate has chosen to crack down on illegal migrant criminals as its first order of business due to an “urgent need” for action amid the Biden-Harris border crisis.
“Laken Riley’s horrific murder at the hands of an illegal alien should have never happened,” Thune told the DCNF. “There is an urgent need to take action regarding the border crisis to protect the American people, which is why I chose this as the first bill [Laken Riley Act] the Senate will vote on this Congress.”
As the 119th Congress begins, the United States Senate will work to ensure President Trump has his team in place to secure our border, protect our homeland, and provide for our nation’s defense. pic.twitter.com/cggWiSzr9t
— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) January 3, 2025
The Senate will likely vote on the legislation as early as this Friday, the DCNF has learned.
The House of Representatives is also slated to vote this week on companion legislation sponsored by Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins that would also target illegal migrants who commit theft-related crimes.
“An illegal criminal came into my district and killed Laken Riley because our law enforcement did not have the tools to stop him,” Collins told the DCNF. “Laken fought until her last breath, and so will I until this bill crosses the finish line and lands on the President’s desk.”
The bills seek to honor the memory of Laken Riley, a University of Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an illegal migrant while out on a run near her college campus in February 2024. Riley’s killer, Venezuelan national Jose Antonio Ibarra, had a criminal record in the United States prior to killing Riley and was convicted of murdering the 22 year-old college student in November 2024.
Ibarra and his brother were previously arrested in October 2022 for allegedly shoplifting at a Walmart in Athens, Georgia, but were ultimately released because the shoplifting charge was a misdemeanor.
If the legislation up for consideration in the House and Senate passes both chambers and is signed into law by President-elect Donald Trump, federal immigration authorities would be required to detain illegal migrants like Ibarra who commit theft-related crimes in the United States.
The Trump-Vance transition team did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s inquiry about whether Trump would sign the legislation cracking down on illegal migrant criminals into law.
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