US House approves bill allowing detention of undocumented immigrants for theft
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Laken Riley Act, named for nursing student murdered by Venezuelan, is resurrected after failing in Senate last year. The US House of Representatives approved the Laken Riley Act on Tuesday, marking the first bill passage of the new Congress, as Donald Trump and fellow Republicans turn their attention to immigration after heavily campaigning on the issue in the November elections.
The vote was 264 to 159, as 48 Democrats joined 216 Republicans in supporting the bill. It now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate, which is expected to consider the proposal in the coming days. The bill, named for a 22-year-old nursing student at the University of Georgia who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant last year, would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes. It would also allow state attorneys general to sue the federal government if they believe their states have been harmed by its failure to enforce immigration laws.
Republican Mike Johnson, the newly re-elected speaker of the House, condemned most House Democrats for opposing the bill and accused them of ignoring the wishes of voters who delivered a victory for Trump in November. “House Republicans heard the voices of those who wanted change and voted to pass the Laken Riley Act,” Johnson said in a statement. “We will always fight to protect Americans, and today’s success is just the beginning of Republican efforts to undo the catastrophic damage caused by years of the Democrats’ failed leadership.”.
