Congress has moved closer to passing the Laken Riley Act, and all three members of Wyoming’s delegation on Capitol Hill are backing the legislation named for the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student murdered while jogging last year by an illegal immigrant who had a record of prior arrests.
The Senate on Thursday voted 84-9 to advance what Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, called an “exact version” of the bill that the House passed 264-159 earlier in the week. The companion House and Senate bills would make it easier for authorities to deport illegal immigrants arrested for burglary and theft.
Thursday’s action sets up another vote in the Senate, which was not immediately scheduled.
Barrasso said he appreciates the large degree of bipartisanship for the Republican-led legislation. The Senate bill could still be amended, however, and Barrasso cautioned that proposed changes “weakening” the measure would not be welcomed.
“Senate Republicans are not weakening this life-saving legislation,” Barrasso said Thursday afternoon from the Senate floor moments before the vote to move the bill forward.
Republicans control the Senate but will need help from Democrats to push the bill across the finish line.
The nine senators voting against the bill were Cory Booker (New Jersey), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Andy Kim (New Jersey), Ed Markey (Massachusetts), Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Bernie Sanders (Vermont), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Tina Smith (Minnesota) and Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts). All are Democrats except Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
Not voting were Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, Patty Murray, D-Washington, Alex Padilla, D-California, and Adam Schiff D-California.
What It Says
According to the Congressional Research Service, a government arm that provides nonpartisan summaries of legislation, the House bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain “certain non-U.S. nationals … who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.”
Critics have called the bill heavy-handed. But Barrasso blamed what he called President Joe Biden’s open-border policies for Riley’s death at the hands of Venezuelan national Jose Ibarra. A judge in November convicted the 26-year-old of murder, kidnapping and other charges after the defendant waived his right to a jury trial.
“Tomorrow would have been her 23rd birthday,” Barrasso said on the floor in reference to Riley.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, who joined Barrasso in voting to advance the legislation, echoed his concerns about border security.
“The American justice system failed Laken Riley,” Lummis said in an emailed statement from her office. “For far too long, the Biden-Harris administration rolled out the red carpet to unvetted illegal aliens, and Laken’s death is the devastating yet preventable consequence of these reckless policies.”
Earlier, Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, voted to help propel the bill through the House.
According to her official website: “The man who murdered [Riley] had been arrested for theft just months prior but was released by local authorities due to ICE’s failure to issue a detainer. This failure stems from the Biden Administration’s refusal to enforce immigration laws as written, prioritizing leniency over justice.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a division of the Homeland Security Department.
