The two Democratic senators representing Laken Riley’s home state of Georgia remain noncommittal on legislation bearing her name nearly a year after she was murdered by an illegal migrant.
The Senate is slated to hold a procedural vote on the Laken Riley Act, legislation that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement to detain illegal migrants who commit theft-related crimes, as early as Friday. Most Senate Democrats, including Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, have refrained from supporting the bill, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s multiple inquiries to every Democratic lawmaker on whether they back the Laken Riley Act’s passage.
The Laken Riley Act is named in honor of the 22 year-old University of Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an illegal migrant while out on a run near her college campus in February 2024. The legislation is notably backed by members of Riley’s family and is sponsored by the entire Senate Republican conference as well as Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Ruben Gallego of Arizona.
Democratic Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have notably refrained from expressing support for the bill despite Riley previously being one of their constituents.
An Ossoff spokesperson referred the DCNF to a statement the senator gave to CNN yesterday that he will vote to advance the bill during a procedural vote. The spokesperson did not address the DCNF’s inquiry about whether the senator supports the bill in its current form and will ultimately vote for the Laken Riley Act’s passage.
Ossoff, one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents, is expected to face a tough reelection fight in 2026. Ossoff narrowly won his first Senate election in the state by just 55,000 votes during a runoff against former Republican Georgia Sen. David Perdue in January 2021.
A spokesperson for Warnock did not respond to the DCNF’s multiple inquiries about whether he will vote for the Laken Riley Act.
“The Laken Riley Act is good bipartisan legislation that will save lives and bring justice to a young woman who was killed by an illegal criminal,” Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins, the lead sponsor of the Laken Riley Act in the House, told the DCNF Wednesday. “I do not know how any elected official, whether in the House or Senate, can go back to their constituents and tell them that they voted to keep dangerous criminals in their communities.”
“If there are any two U.S. Senators in our country that should vote ‘Yes’ on the Laken Riley Act it is Senators Warnock and Ossoff,” Collins added. “She [Laken Riley] was their constituent, and she would still be alive today if this legislation had been in place.”
Riley’s killer, Venezuelan national Jose Antonio Ibarra, had a criminal record in the United States prior to murdering Riley. Ibarra was arrested in October 2022 for allegedly shoplifting at a Walmart in Athens, Georgia, but was ultimately released because the shoplifting charge was a misdemeanor. Despite residing in the U.S. illegally, Jose Ibarra reportedly arrived in Georgia after receiving a “humanitarian flight” from New York City in 2023.
If the Laken Riley Act passes the Senate and is signed into law by President-elect Donald Trump, ICE and local law enforcement would be required to detain illegal migrants like Ibarra who commit theft-related crimes in the United States, according to the bill text.
Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who is facing a competitive reelection contest in a swing state that President-elect Donald Trump won in November, is reportedly backing the legislation, though a Peters’ spokesperson did not respond to the DCNF’s multiple inquiries about why the Michigan Democrat is supporting the bill.
Democratic Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper will vote to advance the Laken Riley Act during a procedural vote, but wants the legislation to be subject to an amendment process and does not support the bill in its current form, a spokesperson told the DCNF.
Other Democratic lawmakers who could face competitive reelection bids in 2026, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tina Smith of Minnesota and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico are thus far noncommittal on the bill. Spokespersons for these Democratic lawmakers did not respond to the DCNF’s multiple inquiries about whether they support the legislation.
The bill passed passed the House overwhelmingly in a 264-159 vote Tuesday afternoon with roughly a fifth of House Democrats voting in support of the legislation. The Laken Riley Act would need to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to secure its passage in the upper chamber, requiring five other Democratic lawmakers in addition to Fetterman, Gallego and Peters to support the bill.
159 Democrats just voted AGAINST the Laken Riley Act.
They voted AGAINST detaining and deporting criminal illegal aliens, and putting Americans’ safety first.
Democrats have YET AGAIN ignored the demands of the American people for safety and security.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 7, 2025
“It’s [the Laken Riley Act] really common sense,” Fetterman told Fox News’ Bret Baier Tuesday. “We have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of migrants here illegally that have [been] convicted of crimes … who wants to defend it to allow them to remain in our nation?”
“If you’re here illegally and you’re committing crimes and those things, I don’t know why anybody thinks that it’s controversial that they all need to go,” Fetterman added.
ICE reported tens of thousands of migrants with criminal records — homicide or sexual assault.
425,000 have criminal records in total and should be deported.
I support a secure border.
I support a legal path for Dreamers.
I support the Laken Riley Act. https://t.co/elEuIByd6s
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) January 7, 2025
Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the lead sponsor of the Laken Riley Act in the Senate, thanked Gallego for signing on as a cosponsor of the bill Wednesday. Gallego, a former House lawmaker, notably supported the legislation during the last Congress when the bill was subject to a vote in the House.
“I’d like to thank Senator Gallego for cosponsoring the bipartisan Laken Riley Act,” Britt told the DCNF. “This commonsense legislation would keep American families safe, and every single Senator should support it.”
Fetterman appeared to tell Baier Tuesday that if the Laken Riley Act falls short on Friday due to the majority of Senate Democrats opposing the legislation then the bill’s failure will be the latest sign that the Democratic Party is out of step with the American public on the issues of border security and illegal immigration.
“There’s 47 of us [Democrats] in the Senate, and if we can’t pull up with seven votes … then that’s the reason why we lost [in November],” Fetterman told Baier. “They [the American people] have said, ‘We want you to find ways to have commonsense, bipartisan solutions to help us secure our border and keep our country and communities safe.’ And so I’m hopeful that our colleagues will come together.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
