The Laken Riley Act, which won bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, requires the detention of illegal aliens accused of theft and violent crimes.
Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing when she went out for a run on Feb. 22, 2024. Prosecutors said she was encountered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, who killed her during a struggle. Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial and was found guilty in November of murder and other crimes by a judge, who alone heard and decided the case. He was sentenced to life without parole.
Ibarra is one of the millions of people who entered the country illegally during the Biden administration's open border policy.
Under the new law, federal officials would be required to detain any migrant arrested or charged with crimes like shoplifting or assaulting a police officer or crimes that injure or kill someone.
“If you come into this country illegally and you commit a crime, you should not be free to roam the streets of this nation,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who helped push the bill through the Senate.
Trump also used the signing ceremony to announce he is directing the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are living illegally in the United States and cannot be deported to their home countries.
