Republican introduces 'Laken Riley Act' to force ICE to retain illegal aliens for theft, says tragic murder is a 'wakeup call'

In response to the brutal murder of Laken Hope Riley, a Republican lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain any illegal immigrants charged with theft or burglary.

Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) introduced the Laken Riley Act on Friday, which would "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."

The bill is dedicated to Laken Riley, the 22-year-old college nursing student who was recently murdered on the campus of the University of Georgia. Riley died from blunt force trauma.

The suspect in the horrific slaying is 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra — an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. He has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing Riley’s death.

ICE has confirmed that Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 near El Paso, Texas. He was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Sept. 8, 2022, after illegally crossing the U.S. southern border.

The Venezuelan national was released by U.S. border officials pending a review of his immigration case, according to ICE.

In August 2023, Ibarra was reportedly arrested by New York Police Department officers and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.

The New York Post reported, "Ibarra, 26, was working for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and a local restaurant when he was arrested in August for endangering the welfare of a child, after he was caught in Queens riding a gas-powered moped with Franco’s son on the back, without any head protection or restraint for the child, according to police sources."

However, the NYPD said it has no record of Ibarra's reported arrest.

Collins told Fox News, "The senseless murder of Laken Riley by Jose Ibarra, who had no business being in this country, was another wakeup call as Americans experience an illegal alien crime wave because of Joe Biden's open border and local sanctuary city policies."

"I wish we could bring Laken back, but we must now turn our focus to ensuring this doesn't happen to another American," Collins added. "That's why I introduced the Laken Riley Act."

The funeral for Riley was held on Friday.

UGA Laken Riley murder: Gruesome details revealed, Jose Ibarra used weapon | LiveNOW from FOXwww.youtube.com

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