What is Lyukin Riley’s law? A look at the first bill to sign Trump

Adriana Gomez Likon, Associated Press

president Donald Trump Ready to sign the first bill of his new administration and it is named in honor of the killed Nursing student from Georgia Whose name became a call during his campaign in the White House.

In case of signing the law, Lyukin Riley’s law will require the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes. The bill was supported by both parties in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Here are some things that are worth knowing about Leuken Riley’s law:

Who was Luken Riley?

22-year-old Riley was a student at the Ogasta Nursing College when she went on a jogging on February 22, 2024. The prosecutor’s office stated that Jose Antonio Ibarr collided with her, who killed her during a fight. Ibarra refused his right to jury court was found guilty in November murder and other crimes by a judge who alone listened and resolved the case. He was sentenced to life without the right to release.

Trump and other Republicans accused former President Joe Biden of her death because Ibarra was arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, against the backdrop of an unprecedented migration and released for consideration of his case.

“If this act was the law of the country, he would never have the opportunity to kill her,” said Congressman Mike Collins, a Republican from Georgia.

Biden Riley remembered During his speech on the state of the country last year, when he spoke about the safety of borders and after US representative Marjori Taylor Green cried on him, “Name her name!”

Margori's representative Taylor Green, Georgia's state, dressed in Laken Riley shirt — File – Margor Taylor Green Congressman, Georgia, dressed in Luken Riley’s shirt when she arrives before President Joe Baiden’s speech on the country’s condition at a joint session of Congress in the US Capitol, on Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

What does the bill do?

According to the new law, federal officials will have to detain any migrant arrested or accused of crimes such as the shoplifting or an attack on a police officer, or in crimes that lead to injury or death.

“If you have arrived in this country illegally and commit a crime, you should not freely wander the streets of this country,” said Senator Katie Britt, Alabama, which helped push the bill through the Senate.

The bill also authorizes the state prosecutors general to sue the Federal Government for the damage caused by mistakes or decisions of the immigration service that harm states or people. This includes the dismissal of migrants from custody or the non-law of migrants who have received an order for deportation.

This provision gives the states some powers in establishing immigration policy when they tried to withstand the presidential decision both under Trump administrations and Biden administrations.

Although Republicans control both houses of Congress, 46 Democrats in the House of Representatives and 12 Democrats in the Senate supported the event.

Why did most Democrats oppose?

Some have been concerned that the bill would deprive migrants, including minors or recipients of the delayed actions on the arrival of children, the rights to a proper legal procedure.

“After the tragedy, we observe the fundamental erosion of our civil rights,” said Congressman Alexandria Okasio Cortex, Democrat from New York. “In this bill, if a person is even accused of a crime if someone wants to point a finger and accuse someone of theft in the store, he is collected and placed in a private camp and sent for deportation without a single day. in court. “

Most Democrats have criticized the lack of funding in the bill, arguing that the new law would not solve immigration problems, but will impose new requirements for federal power. According to an Associated Press, Democrats on appropriations estimate that over the next three years, this bill will cost $ 83 billion.

Senator Chris Murphy, Connecticut, said the bill is a “completely underfunded mandate.”

Why did some Democrats support it?

The Democrats who supported this were mostly of the five states in which the fighting took place and stated that their voters demanded increased security at the border and support the deportation of migrants accused of crimes.

“Everyone who has committed the crime must respond. That is why I voted for the adoption of Lyukin Riley’s law, ”said Senator Katherine Cortin Kortes Masto from Nevada on social networks after his adoption.

The file is Senator Katherine Kortes Masto, the state of Nevada, to perform a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party, Vice President Kamala Harris, on Sunday, September 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Sam Morris)

New Hepshire Senators Jeanne Shahin and Maggie Hassan and Virginia Senator Mark Warner also supported the bill. Next year, Shahin and Warner will run for the fourth term.

Senator John Fetterman, Pennsylvania, who also supported the bill because he wants a safe border, was the first democrat in the Senate to meet Trump after the election. He met with many members of the Trump Cabinet and parted with his own party through a certain policy.

Senator Ruben Galiego, whose parents are immigrants from Mexico and Colombia, had just been elected in November and became the first Latin American senator Arizona. He said he supports the bill.

“We must provide law enforcement agencies to take measures when illegal immigrants violate the law to prevent such situations as what happened to Lyukene Riley,” he said in a statement.

First published: January 24 2025 at 6:15 am MST