Trump signs new law requiring detention of illegal immigrants charged with theft News
US DHS // Public Domain
Trump signs new law requiring detention of illegal immigrants charged with theft

President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act (the “Act”) into law Wednesday, which will require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States and have been charged with, or arrested for, burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.

This is the first piece of legislation that President Trump has signed into law in this term as President, amending the Immigration and Nationality Act, which already provides for the detention of unlawfully present individuals charged with more serious crimes, like murder and sexual assault.

The Act was first introduced to the House of Representatives in March of 2024, but was stalled in the Senate. The Act was reintroduced earlier this month to the House and Senate, being quickly passed by both.

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman stated that the law will improve security and that a “stronger border is compatible with my commitment to immigration”.

Amy Fischer, Director of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Program at Amnesty International USA, stated that the law is “based upon false, xenophobic narratives that dehumanize and criminalize an entire group of people due to the actions of one person”. Fischer noted that the law could give “people the power to falsely accuse immigrants of theft”. Fischer also highlighted the billions in additional funding that will be required to comply with the law’s requirements.

The Act’s namesake Laken Riley, was a 22-year old nursing student when she was murded by Jose Ibarra, a non-citizen from Venezuela, in Georgia in February of 2024. Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parol in November of 2024. Ibarra illegally entered the United States in 2022. Border officials encountered Ibarra after he crossed the border near El Paso, Texas, where he was paroled and released for further processing. Ibarra was then arrested in fall of 2023 by the New York Police Department and charged with acting in a manner to injure a minor, but was released before a detainer could be issued.

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