Lankford, Britt, Budd Introduce Laken Riley Act in Senate

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced the Laken Riley Act. The Laken Riley Act would require US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal aliens who commit theft, burglary, larceny, or shoplifting offenses and would mandate that these aliens are detained until they are removed from the United States so they cannot reoffend and commit further crimes. Representative Mike Collins (R-GA) introduced the bill in the House of Representatives.

“Our border is in an obvious crisis of President Biden’s creation and there are steps previous presidents have taken to secure our nation that President Biden refuses to take,” said Lankford. “Laken Riley’s painful story is another example of what faces every community and neighborhood across the US, including Oklahoma, because of our open border. Her murderer was paroled into the United States through one of the new Biden parole authorities that he invented to facilitate more illegal crossings into our nation. It is the federal government’s responsibility to keep our nation secure. While there are multiple loopholes in our immigration laws that Congress needs to close immediately, it is also way past time for Biden to use the legal tools he already has to better secure our border.”

“Make no mistake—Laken Riley’s heartbreaking murder was a direct, preventable consequence of willful open border policies by President Biden and his administration. This commonsense legislation would ensure ICE detains and deports criminal illegal aliens, so more innocent American families do not have to face this kind of unimaginable tragedy,” said Britt. “I am grateful for Representative Collins’ strong leadership and for Senator Budd’s partnership in introducing this Senate companion bill. Senator Schumer should bring this bill to the Senate floor immediately.”

“States should be able to protect their citizens from the Biden administration’s lawless, open border policies by seeking relief in federal court. That’s why I am joining Senator Britt to introduce the Senate version of the Laken Riley Act. We simply cannot tolerate any more senseless tragedies like this one. What happened to Laken Riley should never happen to any American citizen,” said Budd.

“The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly and on a bipartisan basis,” said Collins. “I am grateful to Senator Britt for taking the lead on getting this vital legislation through the Senate so we can put Laken Riley’s name on Joe Biden’s desk and take a step toward preventing this from happening to another American.”

Additionally, this legislation would ensure that States have standing to bring civil actions against federal officials who refuse to enforce immigration law or who violate the law. The Laken Riley Act passed the House last week in a bipartisan vote of 251-170. The Senate cosponsors are urging Senator Schumer to bring the Laken Riley Act to the floor for a vote immediately.

Lankford is the lead Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, and he sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting additional information on Jose Antonio Ibarra, who is facing charges related to the murder of Laken Hope Riley.

Original co-sponsors of the legislation include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Kennedy (R-LA), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Thune (R-SD), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

The full text of the bill can be found here.

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