U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-AL, renewed her calls for the U.S. Senate to pass the bipartisan Laken Riley Act as Laken Riley’s accused killer’s trial begins in Georgia this week.
“As America watches this trial unfold, I am once again calling on Senate Democrats to pass the bipartisan Laken Riley Act. Laken’s death was preventable, but President Biden and Vice President Harris chose mass migration over the safety and security of the American people,” said Britt.
Britt introduced the Laken Riley Act to the Senate on March 12 and has since been one of its biggest advocates. The House passed the Laken Riley Act just days before on March 7 in what Britt called an “overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 251-170.”
“Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have enabled their dangerous open-border policies and blocked our efforts to pass the Laken Riley Act. There is no responsibility more important than keeping the American people safe, and I remain committed to passing this bill named in Laken’s honor to ensure more families are spared this type of unthinkable tragedy,” said Britt.
The bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain any undocumented immigrants who are charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admitted to committing burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. It would also allow a state’s attorney general or other state official to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security for any harm to the state or its residents if the financial harm exceeds $100.
Although the Laken Riley Act has passed the House and received some bipartisan support in the Senate, some advocacy groups have raised concerns about the broader implications of the bill’s language.
In a letter to members of the House, the American Civil Liberties Union said that the Laken Riley Act “would require the government to detain people who have not been convicted or even charged with a crime, potentially sweeping thousands of people into mandatory detention at enormous taxpayer expense and diverting law enforcement resources.”
