Washington, D.C. — At a press conference today, Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) led his Republican colleagues to call on Senate Democrats to hold a vote and pass the Laken Riley Act.
“We simply do not believe that another American family needs to experience a tragedy like the one that befell the Riley family. That’s why we need to pass the Laken Riley Act today,’ he said.
Senator Budd also announced that he will propose the Laken Riley Act as an amendment to the spending package that is expected to be considered this week.
“This amendment deserves a fair, up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. The American people need to know who stands on the side of preventing tragedies, and who will sadly continue to enable them,” he said.
Watch Senator Budd’s full remarks below:
Background:
Senator Budd joined Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) to introduce the Senate version of the bill last week.
The Laken Riley Act would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal aliens who commit theft, burglary, larceny, or shoplifting offenses and would mandate that these aliens are detained until they are removed from the United States. The legislation also empowers states attorneys general to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security for taking actions on immigration that harm their states or their citizens.
The bill is named after 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered by an illegal alien on campus last month, who had been previously cited for theft and shoplifting but was released.
The House of Representatives passed the bill on March 7, 2024 in a bipartisan vote of 251-70 including 37 Democrats.
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