U.S. Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Rudy Yakym (R-IN) on Jan. 7 voted with the majority of members in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain illegal immigrants who have been arrested for specific crimes until they can be removed from the country.
The U.S. House voted 264-159 to approve the Laken Riley Act, H.R. 29, and sent it to the U.S. Senate for action.
“The open border policies of the past four years under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been an unmitigated disaster, and they’ve turned every American community into a border community,” Rep. Yakym said. “By passing this legislation as our first bill of this new Congress, we are showing that securing the border is our top priority and that we are taking back control of our country.
“I urge my Senate colleagues to pass this legislation immediately so it is sitting on President Trump’s desk and can be swiftly signed into law on Jan. 20,” he added.
H.R. 29 is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia, who was murdered in February 2024 by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was arrested by police twice before.
Last year, Ibarra was convicted on a total of 10 charges, including murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, and aggravated assault with intent to rape. He was paroled and released, and then later arrested in New York for endangering the welfare of a child. Once in Georgia, Ibarra was arrested again for shoplifting before murdering Riley, according to information provided by the lawmakers.
“The murder of Laken Riley, and countless others like her, could have been prevented if we enforced our immigration and public safety laws,” said Rep. Calvert. “I voted for the Laken Riley Act to protect Americans from violent criminals and those who have demonstrated time and time again that they cannot abide by our laws. We are a nation that welcomes immigrants who follow the law and come here to better their lives. We are not a nation that blindly welcomes criminals into our communities.”
Under H.R. 29, DHS must detain an individual who is unlawfully present in the United States or did not possess the necessary documents when applying for admission, and has been charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admits to having committed acts that constitute the essential elements of burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting, according to the Congressional Record summary.
The bill also would authorize state governments to sue for injunctive relief over certain immigration-related decisions or alleged failures by the federal government if the decision or failure caused the state or its residents harm, including financial harm of more than $100, the summary says.