WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Representative Jason Smith (Mo.) voted to pass the Laken Riley Act, legislation to give law enforcement more tools to keep communities safe from illegal alien criminals. The legislation is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was brutally murdered last year by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.
“For four long years, the Left has turned a blind eye to deadly, violent crime perpetuated by dangerous illegal immigrants,” said Smith. “That’s especially true when it comes to Jose Ibarra – the illegal alien who, instead of being detained, was free to roam the streets and took the life of Laken Riley. My heart goes out to her family and all who have been impacted by violence carried out by illegal immigrants.”
The illegal alien who murdered Riley had been previously cited for shoplifting by the Athens Police Department. If local law enforcement had called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and ICE issued a detainer and picked him up, Riley would be alive.
Smith continued, “We’ve seen this violence affect communities around the country, including right here in Missouri where Officer David Lee was killed by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record. The American people are sick and tired of paying the consequences of the Left’s open-border agenda. It’s just one of many reasons why they elected a Republican-controlled Congress and sent President Donald Trump back to Washington. The Laken Riley Act – the very first bill passed by the House in the new Congress – is an important step in our fight against the Left’s dangerous open-border agenda. It’s inexcusable that 159 Democrats voted against this life-sving legislation. I’ll continue fighting to fix all the damage caused by the Left’s radical immigration agenda and advance the policies we need to make our border secure again.”
On September 22, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Officer David Lee tragically passed away after he was struck by the car of an illegal immigrant, Ramon Arnaldo Chavez-Rodriguez, who was intoxicated, driving without a license, and going over the speed limit.
The Laken Riley Act amends federal law to require ICE to issue detainers and take custody of illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes, such as shoplifting, as defined by state and local law. In addition, it allows state attorneys general to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements, or other policy failures harm that state or its residents.
