With the recent conviction of Laken Riley's murderer, many are calling on the Senate to now pass the Laken Riley Act, to establish grounds for inadmissibility (and therefore deportation) for criminal offenses. The House already passed the Act (251-170), which has stalled in the Senate.

This bill makes foreign nationals inadmissible to the United States if they admit to or are charged, arrested for, or convicted of a crime related to theft. It also makes them inadmissible if they admit to "committing acts which constitute the essential elements of" such a crime and requires the Homeland Security secretary to issue a detainer for or otherwise take into custody such individuals.

Specifically, the measure amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to establish grounds for inadmissibility for offenses related specifically to burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting — regardless of whether the offense is categorized as a misdemeanor or a felony under federal, state or local law.

Critics of the Biden administration's immigration actions say they amount to an "open border" policy that has led to record levels of migrants from all over the world entering the country. To date, upwards of eight million migrants may have entered the United States since 2021, leading many local and state officials from both parties to call for federal help to stem the inflow of migrants and help those now here.

The crisis has also cast a spotlight on so-called sanctuary cities. Although the definition of "sanctuary city" varies across the country, many such jurisdictions refuse to cooperate with ICE and effectively protect immigrants from deportation or prosecution. Specifically, many cities and counties refuse to enforce a 48-hour "detainer" to hold immigrants ICE has identified for apprehension.

Laken Riley, a 22 year-old Univ. of Georgia nursing student, was allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan migrant who entered the country illegally, was detained, and later released on parole. ICE says Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested by the New York Police Department in August 2023, and charged with child endangerment and a motor-vehicle license violation. New York authorities released him before ICE could issue a detainer. Ibarra later moved to Georgia, where he was arrested for stealing $200 in merchandise from Walmart, and was arrested again for using a fake green card to get a job at the U. of Georgia.

Supporters of the bill say that Biden administration's lenient "open-border" immigration policies have led to record numbers of illegal migrants, including criminal aliens, crossing our Southwest border. They argue that undocumented immigrants are committing criminal offenses with little or no consequences and should be immediately detained or be barred from entering the country, not protected from prosecution by local officials who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Democrats, they argue, are downplaying this threat to public safety, and U.S. citizens, like Laken Riley, should not have to lose their lives as a result.

Opponents of the bill say the bill seeks to legislate an offense for which penalties already exist and is just another overreaching attempt to punish the Homeland Security secretary. They note that immigrants convicted of certain theft-related crimes are already subject to inadmissibility determinations under federal law and say Republicans are simply trying to stoke fear of immigrants who actually commit crimes at lower rates than U.S. citizens. The bill, they say, is another attempt to demonize immigrants and that if Republicans were serious about immigration reform, they wouldn't have opposed the recent bill that would have helped secure the border.

Should Congress pass H.R.7511, the Laken Riley Act, expanding grounds for deportation?