AP
Updated on March 8, 2024, 11:09 AM IST
After 22-year-old Laken Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was killed during a morning run late last month, Republicans introduced the Laken Riley Act in the House of Representatives at the same time as Biden's annual address. The bill passed easily by a vote of 251-170, with all Republicans and 37 Democrats voting in favor. But the nine-page bill was intended to make a political statement rather than legislate and had little chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would require federal authorities to arrest illegal immigrants accused of theft, as Republicans used the recent death of a nursing student in Georgia to challenge President Joe Biden's border policies, just hours ago before his state shifted blame to the Union address.
After 22 years Leaf RileyAn Augusta University nursing student was killed during a morning run late last month. At the same time as Biden's annual address, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed the Lake Riley Act.
The bill passed easily by a vote of 251-170, with all Republicans and 37 Democrats voting in favor. But the nine-page bill was intended to make a political statement rather than legislate and had little chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
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As immigration becomes a top issue in the presidential election, Republicans are using nearly every tool at their disposal — including the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — to condemn the president's handling of immigration. But Biden also criticized Republican lawmakers for rejecting a bipartisan bill last month aimed at curbing the number of illegal border crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico.
“Republicans will not tolerate the release of dangerous criminals in our communities, and that’s exactly what the Biden administration has done,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News. Riley's death has become a rallying point for Donald Trump, the Republican Party's likely presidential nominee, after authorities arrested Jose Ibarra on murder and assault charges, a Venezuelan who entered the United States illegally and was allowed to remain there pending his immigration case becomes . He has not yet commented on the allegations.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Ibarra was arrested by New York police in August and charged with injury to a child under 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. Ibarra was released before ICE could ask New York officials to detain him until immigration authorities could take him into custody, ICE said. New York officials said they had no record of the arrest.
The bill would also allow states to sue the federal government if they can prove harm caused by immigrants who entered the country illegally. It was part of a broader push by Republicans to mock immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally and link them to violent crime.
Rep. Mike Collins, the Georgia Republican who sponsored the bill, posted on social media this week that he invited Riley's parents to the State of the Union address, but they chose to “stay home because they grieving the loss of their daughter.” ”
Per Johnson, “Laken is just one of the tragic examples of innocent American citizens who have lost their lives and been brutally and violently attacked by illegal criminals roaming our streets.”
The speaker said his State of the Union guests would include New York City police officers arguing with migrants in Times Square.
Overall, however, there is no evidence that immigrants are more vulnerable to violent crime. Several studies have found that immigrants commit lower crime rates than those born in the United States. However, groups that support restrictive immigration policies dispute or reject these findings.
A study published by the National Academy of Sciences based on Texas Department of Public Safety data from 2012 to 2018 found that native-born U.S. citizens were more than twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes as people who were were staying in the country illegally.
Democrats argued that Republicans showed they were not serious about changing border policy by rejecting a bipartisan Senate proposal that would have overhauled the U.S. asylum system with faster and stricter enforcement. Republicans largely criticized this bill as inadequate.
Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, accused Republican lawmakers of using Riley's death for political gain.
“The idea that you're putting a bill like this on the table to take advantage of a terrible tragedy, a bill that's not going to do anything, a bill that you know is going to go nowhere, is really, really sad. McGovern said.
