BREAKING: Trump signs Laken Riley Act into law

The act passing into law is one of many first-week moves by Trump, including several executive orders, to secure the border and crack down on illegal immigrant crime in the country, with his administration having campaigned on protecting citizens from dangerous criminals.

The Act was named after Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra. Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison in November after being convicted of the crime. The bill forces the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants who are charged with theft-related crimes. Ibarra has since requested a new trial, with his attorneys alleging that "errors of law" were made that "necessitate a new trial." Attorneys for Ibarra wrote that the verdict reached by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who delivered the verdict in the case as Ibarra had waived his right to a jury trial, was "contrary to law" and "contrary to the evidence," the Associated Press reported. The filing also stated that the court "committed other errors of law that necessitate a new trial."

“Laken was a brilliant and beautiful 22-year old nursing student from Georgia. The best in her class… She was respected by everyone… From the time she was in first grade, Laken knew she wanted to spend her time caring for others. That’s what she did," Trump said. "To her friends and classmates, she was a light of warmth and kindness in every single room,” Trump said. “To her parents and family she was everything in the world. They’ve had a miserable period of time.”

“America will never, ever forget Laken Hope Riley. The vicious criminal who murdered precious Laken was an illegal alien member of the barbaric Venezuelan prison gang known as Tren de Aragua. He trespassed across our southern border in 2022 and was apprehended by border patrol but under the cruel policies of the last administration, instead of being deported as he should have been, he was released into the United States as were millions of other people, many of them very dangerous people.”

“... How can they allow criminals to pour into our country and try to defend it? And they still try to defend it, but they can’t. That’s why I’m here instead of somebody else, actually. I believe that’s the single biggest reason. Inflation was horrible, many things were horrible during that administration,” Trump said.

217 Republicans and 46 Democrats voted for the bill, while 156 Democrats voted against it. This comes after the Senate passed the bill in a 64 to 35 vote. The amended version of the bill required another vote from the House to pass. Earlier in January, the House passed the unamended version with a vote of 265 to 159. One amendment added to the bill came from Senator Joni Ernst, which forces ICE to detain illegal immigrants who were charged with killing or injuring someone. The second amendment came from Senator John Cornyn, which ensures that attacks against law enforcement would result in detentions, the New York Post reported.