The vast majority of House Democrats on Thursday voted against the Laken Riley Act, a bill that requires federal immigration authorities to arrest and deport illegal immigrants charged with local theft or burglary. The act passed by a 251-170 vote, with only 37 Democrats joining Republicans to advance the bill.
The legislation is after named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old college nursing student who was tragically murdered by an illegal immigrant on the campus of the University of Georgia, last month.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela was charged with the brutal murder.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Ibarra and his wife crossed the southern border into the United States near El Paso, Texas in September 2022. After being detained and released, they were reportedly put on a bus and sent to New York City.
Court documents reveal that Ibarra was arrested on September 14, 2023 in New York City after driving an uninsured, unregistered car. NYPD officers arrested Ibarra and charged him with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. He was then released.
He and his brother, Diego Ibarra, were later cited in Georgia for stealing nearly $200 worth of goods from an Athens Walmart.
Ibarra was not detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in either case.
“The senseless murder of Laken Riley by Jose Ibarra, who had no business being in this country, was another wake-up call as Americans experience an illegal alien crime wave because of Joe Biden’s open border and local sanctuary city policies,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.).
After the bill passed in the House, Collins urged the Senate to quickly take up the legislation to “ensure justice for Laken and give ICE more tools to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens before they commit more serious crimes.”
“Democrats don’t care about your safety!” the House Judiciary GOP posted on X shortly after the vote. “Will @chuckschumer allow a vote on the Laken Riley Act in the Senate? Would @JoeBiden veto it?”
🚨 #BREAKING: 170 Democrats just voted against the Laken Riley Act.
The bill requires ICE to arrest and detain illegal aliens like Laken Riley’s murderer until they are removed from the country.
Democrats don’t care about your safety!#SayHerName
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) March 7, 2024
Before the vote, U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D- N.Y.,) blasted the bill, accusing Republicans of demonizing migrants and calling the effort a GOP ploy to keep an issue that hurts Democrats in the news cycle.
“Republicans appear to have just thrown together language from existing, unrelated bills that target and scapegoat immigrants to score cheap political points in an election year, while doing nothing to address… the border,” he said during the debate.
Democrat Rep Jerry Nadler Says The Laken Riley Act Is An “Attempt to keep immigration in the news”
Says This Bill Is “So that you can demonize (illegal) immigrants”
Jerry Nadler Says Republicans Wanting Reform After This Murder Is A “Political Stunt”
These People Are Sick pic.twitter.com/QiElQOHxfD
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 7, 2024
“Doesn’t it seem odd to vote against deporting illegals who commit a crime?” billionaire Elon Musk posted on X.
Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding information on Ibarra that they said “are critical to the Committee’s continued oversight work as Biden’s border crisis.”
The House Democrats who supported the bill are:
Colin Allred (Texas)
Nikki Budzinski (Illinois)
Yadira Caraveo (Colorado)
Matt Cartwright (Pennsylvania)
Jim Costa (California)
Joe Courtney (Connecticut)
Angie Craig (Minnesota)
Henry Cuellar (Texas)
Sharice Davids (Kansas)
Donald Davis (North Carolina)
Chris Deluzio (Pennsylvania)
Ruben Gallego (Arizona)
Maria Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington)
Jared Golden (Maine)
Vicente Gonzalez (Texas)
Josh Gottheimer (New Jersey)
Josh Harder (California)
Jahana Hayes (Connecticut)
Steven Horsford (Nevada)
Jeff Jackson (North Carolina)
Marcy Kaptur (Ohio)
Greg Landsman (Ohio)
Susie Lee (Nevada)
Mike Levin (California)
Stephen Lynch (Massachusetts)
Frank Mrvan (Indiana)
Chris Pappas (New Hampshire)
Mary Peltola (Alaska)
Hillary Scholten (Michigan)
Kim Schrier (Washington)
Elissa Slotkin (Michigan)
Eric Sorensen (Illinois)
Greg Stanton (Arizona)
Tom Suozzi (New York)
Emilia Sykes (Ohio)
Dina Titus (Nevada)
Susan Wild (Pennsylvania).