On Wednesday, the Republican-majority US Congress gave President Donald Trump an early victory in his efforts to curb illegal immigration by passing a bill that expands pretrial detention for foreign criminal suspects, AFP reported.
This will be the first piece of legislation President Trump signs into law during his second term. The Laken Riley Act mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related offenses.
The bill was approved by the Senate earlier this week with a 64-35 vote and passed the House of Representatives by a 263-256 vote.
It received bipartisan support, with 46 Democrats voting in favor in the House and 12 in the Senate, alongside Republicans.
The law aligns with President Trump’s stance on immigration, which he emphasized in his first day executive orders calling for mass deportations and the deployment of US troops to the southern border to prevent illegal crossings.
What is the Laken Riley Act?
The Laken Riley Act is named after 22-year-old student Laken Riley, who was murdered by an undocumented Venezuelan man wanted for shoplifting.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was convicted of Riley’s murder after her body was discovered in a wooded area near the University of Georgia in Athens.
The new law requires US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants who are arrested or charged with crimes such as burglary, theft, shoplifting, or assaulting a law enforcement officer.
The bill passed both houses after a modification was added to extend mandatory detention to include crimes that result in death or serious injury.
