The President also announced that his administration is planning to send the “worst criminal aliens” to a detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On Wednesday (local time), US President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, the first law of his second term. The bill expands federal authorities’ authority to hold and deport immigrants who are in the country illegally and have been accused of certain offenses, including shoplifting. The President also stated that his government intends to transfer the “worst criminal aliens” to a detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“We are enacting a groundbreaking bill today. “It will save countless innocent American lives,” Trump stated from the White House after signing the Act.
Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by an unlawfully present Venezuelan man in the United States, inspired the bipartisan legislation.
Speaking during the ceremony, which included Riley’s parents and sister, Trump said, “It’s a beautiful homage to your daughter, that’s all I can say. It’s very unfortunate that we have to do this.”
The US President has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and substantially boost deportation, but at the signing, he stated that some of the illegal migrants being returned to their home countries could not be trusted to stay there.
“Some of them are so bad that we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re gonna send ’em out to Guantanamo,” Trump added, asking immigration officials to prepare facilities in Cuba to receive criminals.
“We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal aliens threatening the American people,” said Mr. Trump.
Shortly thereafter, the White House stated that the President had signed a memorandum regarding Guantanamo. The Guantanamo facility could house “dangerous criminals” and those who are “hard to deport,” according to a Trump administration official.
Laken Riley Act
Mike Collins, a Republican Representative from Georgia, wrote the Laken Riley Act. It is mandatory for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold illegal aliens arrested for larceny, burglary, shoplifting, theft, or assaulting a police officer. The act does not need an individual to be convicted of a crime in court. Only the accusation of the crime could result in their detention and deportation. The act also includes a provision that allows state attorneys general to sue the Department of Homeland Security if they believe immigration policies are causing harm to their state or its residents, potentially allowing conservative state leaders to help dictate Washington’s immigration policy.
“The law directly addresses one of the federal policy errors that contributed to Laken Riley’s death. Jose Ibarra, her murderer, is an illegal alien who was previously cited for theft by the Athens Police Department. Laken would still be alive if local law enforcement had contacted ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement), who would have issued a detainer and picked him up, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
The measure was rapidly passed by the newly Republican-controlled Congress, with some Democratic support, despite concerns that it could lead to huge roundups of people for petty offenses such as shoplifting.
The bill’s rapid passing, as well as Trump’s quick signature, add to its profound symbolism for conservatives. However, some have pointed out that the policy exploited a tragedy and could result in chaos and brutality while doing little to combat crime or reform the immigration system.
Who Was Laken Riley
Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student, was out on a run in February 2024 when she was slain by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national living in the country illegally. In November, Ibarra was found guilty and condemned to life without parole.
Ibarra was arrested for unlawful entrance near El Paso, Texas, in September 2022, and later freed to pursue his case in immigration court. According to federal investigators, he was detained by New York police for child endangerment in August 2023 and later released. Police say he was also cited for shoplifting in Georgia in October 2023.
Riley’s mother, who was at the act’s signing ceremony, congratulated Trump. “He said he would secure our borders and he would never forget about Laken and he hasn’t,” she told me.
