The House has passed a bill to require the detainment of unauthorized migrants accused of theft and violent crimes. It marks the first legislation that President Donald Trump can sign as Congress, with some bipartisan support, swiftly moved in line with his plans to crackdown on illegal immigration. The Laken Riley Act is named after a Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan man. Its passage shows just how sharply the political debate over immigration has shifted to the right following Trump’s election victory.
Representative Tom Emmer, the House Republican whip, posted the final vote on X, showing that it passed with 263 votes in favor to 156 against, with 14 members not voting.
In an impassioned floor speech against the bill before it passed, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued that the law would be a financial windfall for private prison companies, by mandating detention for minor offenses. “I want folks at home to look, look at what members of Congress are invested in private prisons companies, who receive this kind of money, and look at the votes on this bill. It is atrocious that people are lining their pockets with private prison profits in the name of a horrific tragedy and the victim of a crime. It is shameful.”
Sorry about that, it looks like it got shoved down as more stories came in, I swear it was at the top when I linked it! ;)
Laken Riley Act passes Congress, awaits Trump’s signature
The House has passed a bill to require the detainment of unauthorized migrants accused of theft and violent crimes. It marks the first legislation that President Donald Trump can sign as Congress, with some bipartisan support, swiftly moved in line with his plans to crackdown on illegal immigration. The Laken Riley Act is named after a Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan man. Its passage shows just how sharply the political debate over immigration has shifted to the right following Trump’s election victory.
Representative Tom Emmer, the House Republican whip, posted the final vote on X, showing that it passed with 263 votes in favor to 156 against, with 14 members not voting.
In an impassioned floor speech against the bill before it passed, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued that the law would be a financial windfall for private prison companies, by mandating detention for minor offenses. “I want folks at home to look, look at what members of Congress are invested in private prisons companies, who receive this kind of money, and look at the votes on this bill. It is atrocious that people are lining their pockets with private prison profits in the name of a horrific tragedy and the victim of a crime. It is shameful.”