Trump's deportation plans make headway as Congress passes Laken Riley Act

On Wednesday, the House passed the Laken Riley Act, an immigration detention bill that requires the detainment of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.

The bill is based on the 2024 murder of a 22-year-old Laken Riley, a nursing student who was murdered by an unauthorized immigrant. 

This marks President Donald Trump's first piece of legislation passed by Congress and the beginning of his mass deportation plan. 

SKIP TO: What is the Laken Riley Act? | What happened to Laken Riley?

Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican, called the legislation "perhaps the most significant immigration enforcement bill" to be passed by Congress in nearly three decades.

It's also worth noting that the majority of U.S. adults favor deporting immigrants convicted of violent crimes according to a recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 

Republican congressional leaders have made it clear they intend to follow suit, though their toughest challenge will be finding a way to approve the funding to actually implement Trump’s plans.

How much will the Laken Riley Act cost?

Supporters of former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump hold images of Laken Riley before he speaks at a "Get Out the Vote" rally in Rome, Georgia, on March 9, 2024. Riley, a nursing student, has become the face of immigration re

The Department of Homeland Security has estimated the Laken Riley Act would cost $26.9 billion in the first year to implement, including an increase of 110,000 ICE detention beds.

Cuccinelli said it would require a surge of immigration judges, prosecutors and other staff, but Trump has also paved the way to use military troops, bases and other resources to carry out the mass deportations.

They have already put the cost of funding Trump’s border and deportation priorities at roughly $100 billion, according to Ken Cuccinelli, who directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during Trump’s first presidency.

Republicans are currently strategizing how to push their priorities through Congress.

What is the Laken Riley Act?

What's next:

Under the new legislation: 

  • Federal authorities are required to detain any migrant arrested or charged with crimes like shoplifting.
  • The Senate wants to include those accused of assaulting a police officer or crimes that injure or kill someone.
  • State attorneys general can sue the federal government for harm caused by federal immigration decisions.
  • States have the power to set their own immigration policies.

Who was Laken Riley? 

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Laken Hope Riley. Photo courtesy of University of Augusta. 

The backstory:

Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University College of Nursing who went out on a morning run on campus and was found dead last Febuary. 

Riley's roommate reported that she didn’t return after her run before authorities found her body in a wooded area. 

A memorial to Laken Riley at Lake Allyn Herrick on the campus of the University of Georgia on June 7, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. On February 22, 2024, Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was killed while she was jogging at the University o

Prosecutors said Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan citizen who immigration authorities said unlawfully crossed into the United States in 2022, encountered Riley while she was running on Feb. 22, 2024 and killed her during a struggle. 

What happened to Laken Riley? 

People pass by a memorial to Laken Riley at Lake Allyn Herrick on the campus of the University of Georgia on June 7, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. On February 22, 2024, Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was killed while she was jogging at t

Dig deeper:

Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in a case that became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration.

Defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck told the judge that the evidence was circumstantial and did not definitively prove Ibarra’s guilt.

The Judge found Ibarra guilty of all 10 counts against him: one count of malice murder; three counts of felony murder; and one count each of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, evidence tampering and being a peeping Tom.

ICE makes over 300 arrests

By the numbers:

The Trump administration has already increased immigration enforcement efforts, with ICE focusing on arresting individuals deemed public safety or national security threats. 

Border Czar Tom Homan said that deportation efforts have already begun, and that ICE recently arrested 308 individuals with criminal backgrounds.

"Right now, as we've said repeatedly and President Trump's been clear, we're concentrating on the worst, first," Homan said. 

Crime and Public SafetyNYC MigrantsDonald J. Trump