Donald Trump Signs Laken Riley Act Into Law

President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, a bill intended to crack down on illegal immigration, into law on Wednesday.

The Laken Riley Act, named after a University of Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant, mandates that federal immigration authorities must detain illegal migrants who commit theft-related crimes in the United States. Under the law, attorneys general will have the power to sue the federal government by alleging their states or residents were harmed by a failure of enforcement.

“She’s gonna be responsible for saving a lot of lives,” Trump said Wednesday. “Many of the angel families here today were betrayed by the last administration, with this heartless and foolish and really very, very arrogant and very, very dumb [immigration] policies.”

While being voted on by the Senate, two amendments were tacked on that added to the list of offenses that would require federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants. The amendments added assault of a law enforcement officer and crimes that result in death or serious bodily injury.

The bill was sent to the president’s desk on Wednesday after the House voted 263-156 with 46 Democratic lawmakers voting with Republican lawmakers to get the bill across. The Senate passed the legislation on Monday in a 64-35 vote. Twelve Democratic lawmakers supported the bill, including Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego.

NEW- The U.S. Senate voted to pass the Laken Riley Act, just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in.

The bill passed in a 64-35 vote. Only 12 Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

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— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) January 20, 2025

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was killed while going on a run on the trails on the campus of University of Georgia in February 2024. Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal migrant from Venezuela who entered under the Biden administration, attacked Riley during her run, “disfiguring her skull” with an inanimate object, according an affidavit obtained by Channel 2 News. In November, Ibarra was handed a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“I now have to deal with the fact and burden that my sister will never come home again,” Riley’s sister stated in the courtroom ahead of the sentencing. “That man is completely inhumane and the epitome of evil.” (RELATED: US Military Set To Deploy More Than A Thousand Active Duty Troops To Southern Border, Reports Indicate)

When Ibarra first came into the country in 2022, he was arrested for illegally crossing in El Paso, Texas. But a day later, Ibarra was released on parole and given free rein until October 2024. Ibarra was arrested two more times before the murder. He was arrested in New York in August 2023, when he was charged with riding a gas-powered moped with his girlfriend’s son who did not have any head protection or seat belt. Ibarra was arrested again when he was caught shoplifting with his brother in Athens, Georgia.

Supporters of the Laken Riley Act have previously argued that under the legislation, Ibarra would’ve been deported after he was caught shoplifting ahead of murdering Riley.

“If the Laken Riley Act would have been law of the land last year, she would still be alive with us today,” Republican Georgia Rep. Mike Collins told the Daily Caller News Foundation.