President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act as the first law of his second term as President of the United States. The Act requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain any migrants who are accused of theft and other crimes.
The Act includes language originally from the Protect Our Law Enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act that was first introduced by Congressman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-Patchogue) in 2021 and reintroduced at the start of the 119th Congress.
Laken Riley was a 22-year old nursing student at the University of Georgia when she was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant.
"While on her run, Laken was attacked, viciously assaulted, beaten, brutalized, and murdered by an illegal alien gang member who was set loose in our country by the last administration," Trump said.
Rep. Garbarino said he was honored to attend the bill signing at the White House alongside President Trump.
“The idea that someone can come into this country illegally and continue to commit crimes without consequence is unacceptable,” said Rep. Garbarino. “I am proud to see my provision from the POLICE Act become law. This legislation is for our law enforcement officers on the front lines of the border crisis, for Laken Riley, for Sarah Root, and for the countless other Americans who have suffered at the hands of criminal migrants.”
The House vote on the Act was 264 to 159, with 48 Democrats voting with Republicans in support. All Republicans voted yes while thirteen New York Democrat members voted ‘No’. New York Democrats who voted yes were Ritchie Torres, Tom Suozzi, Josh Riley, Joe Morelle, John Mannion, and Lauren Gillen.
In the United States Senate, just twelve Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill. New York’s Senators Schumer and Gillibrand both voted ‘No’.
Laken Riley’s killer had a criminal history and had been arrested several times in the U.S., only to be released under the Biden-Harris Administration’s lax immigration procedures. The final text of the bill, passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Trump on January 29, 2025, includes a provision from Rep. Garbarino’s POLICE Act that explicitly makes assaulting a law enforcement officer a deportable offense.
The Laken Riley Act will require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers and take custody of illegal immigrants “effectively and expeditiously” when they commit certain crimes, including theft, burglary, larceny, and shoplifting offenses; assault on a law enforcement officer; and crimes resulting in serious bodily injury.
The Act will also mandate that ICE detain such illegal immigrants until they can be removed from the country and authorize state governments to sue for injunctive relief over immigration enforcement decisions that harm the state or its residents.