WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Thursday approved legislation named after a nursing student killed in Athens that would require federal immigration agents to lock up people in the country illegally who have been accused of theft or shoplifting.
The Laken Riley Act was approved in a bipartisan vote of 251-170. Thirty-seven Democrats joined with Republicans to sign off on the measure, which now heads to the Senate where it is unlikely to gain traction with Democrats in charge.
Georgia’s delegation split strictly along party lines with all nine GOP members in favor and the five Democrats opposed.
The man charged with murder last month in Riley’s death, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, is a Venezuelan who authorities say entered the country illegally in 2022. In October 2023, Ibarra and his brother Diego Jose Ibarra, 29, were issued citations after being accused of shoplifting in Athens-Clarke County.
Republicans say changes to federal law are needed to keep potentially dangerous migrants off the streets. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, whose district includes Athens, filed the legislation less than a week ago. It was fast-tracked to the floor so that passage would precede President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address tonight.
The measure would also allow states to sue the federal government for failing to enforce immigration laws.
“I now urge the Senate to take up this bill immediately,” Collins, a Republican from Jackson, wrote on social media after the vote. “Please help us ensure justice for Laken and give ICE more tools to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens before they commit more serious crimes.”
Most Democrats oppose the legislation and accused Republicans of politicizing Riley’s death. They said if Republicans were serious about stemming illegal immigration, they would consider the bipartisan border security package that was introduced in the Senate.
“Mandatory detention of innocent people is not a reasonable or sensible policy choice,” said U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. “... It is important to remember that this bill would subject more people to mandatory detention at a time when Republicans refused to give the Department of Homeland Security the resources it needs to carry out its policies.”
HOW THEY VOTED ON THE LAKEN RILEY ACT, H.R. 7511
“Yes”
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson
U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton
“No”
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta
U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta
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