The Laken Riley Act: Why named so?

The US President signed the Laken Riley Bill and it became the Laken Riley Act. This Act mandates the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-US nationals (aliens under federal law). It is certainly applicable to those who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting on US soil. The Act also authorizes states to sue the Federal Government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.

The Laken Riley Bill-

The Bill was introduced in the Senate on the 6th of January 2024. It was presented to the President on the 23rd of January 2025. The President signed it on the 29th of January 2025 and finally, it became the law. The bill required the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law). It applies to those persons who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.

The Laken Riley Act-

As per the preamble of this Act, it is an Act to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens who have been charged in the United States with theft, and for other purposes. Here Alien is meant by those persons who are not US nationals.

Applicability of the Laken Riley Act-

Whenever any person is charged with or is arrested for or is convicted of or admits having committed, or admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of any of the offence of burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, or assault of a law enforcement officer offence, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person. Here, the terms ‘burglary’, ‘theft’, ‘larceny’, ‘shoplifting’, ‘assault of a law enforcement officer’, and ‘serious bodily injury’ will have the same meanings given such terms in the jurisdiction in which the acts occurred.

Why the Act has been named so-

The Laken Riley Act has been named after a girl named, Riley. She was a student at the Augusta University College of Nursing. A tragic incident has happened when she went for a morning walk on 22 February 2024. As per the Prosecutors, she was encountered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan man, who killed her during a struggle. He entered the US illegally in September 2022, crossing the United States’ southern border with Mexico near El Paso, Texas. The accused Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial. He was found guilty in November of murder and other crimes. Ibarra was sentenced to life without parole.

Donald Trump including other Republicans blamed former President Joe Biden for her death. Because as per them Ibarra had been arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, amid an unprecedented surge in migration and released to pursue his case in immigration court. Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican said, “If this act had been the law of the land, he never would have had the opportunity to kill her,” said Rep. Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican.

Concerns raised over the Act-

• Most of the Democrats criticized the lack of funding in the bill. They argued that the new law would not solve immigration problems but would impose new requirements on federal authorities. Democrats on the Appropriations Committee estimate the bill will cost $83 billion over the next three years.
• Nayna Gupta, Policy Director at the American Immigration Council said, “This bill does nothing to improve safety or fix our broken immigration system. Under the guise of preventing violence, the bill forces immigration officers to indefinitely detain and deport non-citizens who pose no public safety risk, without access to basic due process. The bill also gives state attorneys general unprecedented power over immigration policy. The bill strips people of their basic rights and upends how the U.S. government enforces immigration law,” 
• Some have raised concerns that the bill will strip due process rights for migrants, including minors or recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
• “In the wake of tragedy we are seeing a fundamental erosion of our civil rights,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, a New York Democrat. “In this bill, if a person is so much as accused of a crime if someone wants to point a finger and accuse someone of shoplifting, they would be rounded up and put into a private detention camp and sent out for deportation without a day in court.”

Also Read- 1. Afghanistan Government to revoke licence of NGO’s employing women

2. Union Budget 2025