The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, after earlier Senate approval, and is now on its way to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law. This is the first legislative win for the Trump administration, and it’s a big one.
The Republican Party’s Laken Riley Act is heading to President Donald Trump’s desk to become the first bill he signs into law after the party retook both chambers of Congress and the White House.
The House of Representatives passed the bill in a 263 to 156 vote on Wednesday, the second time the lower chamber advanced the bill this month.
It passed the House 264 to 159 on Jan. 7. All voting Republicans supported the bill, along with 48 Democrats – two more than the most recent vote.
The GOP-controlled Senate also advanced the bill in a bipartisan 64 to 35 vote, but added measures to deport illegal immigrants who assault a police officer or cause death or “serious bodily injury” of another person.
All the votes against the bill were from Democrats:
The original bill would direct Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to detain illegal immigrants accused of theft-related crimes. It also would allow states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration.
The majority of Democrats were against the bill, arguing that allowing people accused but not convicted of crimes to be deported is a slippery slope. But supporters of the bill point out that people here illegally have already run afoul of U.S. law.
That argument is specious; people who are in the country illegally have already broken the law by their presence. The Laken Riley Act also focuses on illegal immigrants who have committed crimes above and beyond their illegal entry.
Previously on RedState: Laken Riley Act Clears the Senate and Heads Back to the House
BREAKING: Republican Control of Senate Starts Off With a Bang in Vote on Laken Riley Act
The final vote was bipartisan by any measure, with 48 Democrats joining Republicans to pass the measure. That should (but probably won’t) stop any complaints about partisanship in this Act. The Act is, of course, named for Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was attacked and murdered on the University of Georgia’s grounds by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. That illegal alien, Jose Ibarra, is now serving a life sentence for the crime. Before he attacked Laken Riley, Ibarra had been arrested but not detained by Immigration and Customs Authority (ICE.) The Laken Riley Act is intended to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.
The legislation was first passed early in 2024 by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives but then it went to the Senate, where then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) let it die.
See Related: House Passes Immigration Bill Named for Slain Georgia Nursing Student Laken Riley
The Republicans in the House Judiciary Committee wasted no time in taking to X to count coup, and they deserve to do so.
🚨BREAKING: The Laken Riley Act is on its way to President Trump’s desk for his signature. pic.twitter.com/gAR3ba7LYs
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) January 22, 2025
President Trump is (obviously) expected to sign the Act when it lands on his desk.
