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HYDE-SMITH TARGETS CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS WITH VOTE FOR LAKEN RILEY ACT
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the same day that President Trump signed executive actions to secure the border, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) voted to pass legislation that targets criminal illegal aliens by requiring the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to arrest and detain illegal immigrants charged with theft or other crimes.
Hyde-Smith is a cosponsor of the Laken Riley Act (S.5). The Senate on Monday approved the legislation on a bipartisan 64-35 vote. Hyde-Smith also cosponsored this U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) legislation in the 118th Congress.
“The tragic loss of Laken Riley has drawn the American public’s attention to the Biden administration’s flawed and dangerous immigration policies. It prompted us to question just why criminals in this country, who are here illegally, are allowed to roam free to commit more crimes. With the passage of this legislation, we are taking important steps to restore public safety,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.
The Laken Riley Act would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes, including burglary, larceny, or shoplifting. It would mandate that the offenders be detained until they are removed from the United States so they cannot re-offend and commit further crimes. The legislation would also ensure states have standing to bring civil actions against federal officials who refuse to enforce immigration law or who violate the law.
The bill is named for Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, who was murdered by Venezuelan illegal immigrant José Ibarra in February 2024. Ibarra had previously been arrested twice, but was paroled into the country.
In the 118th Congress, the legislation passed the House in an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 251-170. Senate Democrats, however, refused to conduct a committee hearing, allow floor consideration, and instead repeatedly blocked the measure from passing by unanimous consent.
Just prior to passage, the Senate also added Sarah’s Law (S.84) to the Laken legislation. Hyde-Smith is also an original cosponsor of this U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) legislation, which would amend the mandatory detention provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to require ICE to detain illegal immigrants criminally charged with killing or seriously injuring another person. It also requires that upon encountering an illegal immigrant subject to mandatory detention, ICE must make reasonable efforts to identify victims and inform their families of certain information
Sarah’s Law is name for Sarah Root, a 21-year-old Iowa college graduate who killed in 2016 by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk. Due to a loophole in federal law, her killer, Edwin Mejia, was released on bond and never seen again.
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