10 Senate Democrats Join Republicans to Advance Laken Riley Act

Ten Senate Democrats joined their Republican colleagues in a vote Friday to advance the Laken Riley Act, teeing the bill up for final passage in the Senate as early as next week.  

The Democrats who voted in favor of the bill include: Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona; Jon Ossoff of Georgia; Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan; Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada; Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire; and Mark Warner of Virginia.  

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is a co-sponsor of the bill but did not vote Friday.  

The Laken Riley Act, a bill named after Georgia nursing student Laken Riley who was murdered by an illegal alien in February 2024, needed at least 60 votes to advance. The final vote Friday was 61-35. 

The bill requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and detain illegal aliens charged with theft. Additionally, the Senate voted 70-25 Wednesday to adopt an amendment to the bill introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that requires the detainment of illegal aliens charged with assault on a law enforcement officer. The bill also gives states permission to sue federal officials who fail to enforce immigration laws.  

The House passed the bill last week with support from all Republicans and 48 Democrats.  

After the bill passed through the lower chamber, Sens. Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., led the reintroduction of the Laken Riley Act in the Senate.  

“What happened to Laken Riley should never happen to any American citizen,” Budd told The Daily Signal. “The killer should have been stopped, but wasn’t. He should have been stopped at the border in 2022, but he was paroled into the country. He should have been detained when he was arrested in New York in 2023, but he wasn’t. He should have been detained when he was arrested in Georgia for shoplifting, but he wasn’t. That’s why Sen. Britt and I are pushing the Laken Riley Act.” 

“We have to prevent these tragedies from ever happening again,” Budd added. “With President Trump about to take office, and Republican majorities in the House and Senate, I am confident we can finally get the Laken Riley Act passed and signed into law.” 

Riley is one of numerous American citizens who have been murdered by illegal aliens during the Biden administration.  

In November, Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela, was found guilty of murdering Riley. Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Ibarra guilty of felony murder and malice murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, kidnapping with bodily injury, obstructing a person making an emergency call, aggravated battery, tampering with evidence, and “peeping Tom.” Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without parole.  

Ibarra first crossed into America as an illegal alien in 2022, according to officials. Ibarra was arrested in 2023 in New York on charges of child endangerment but was released before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could ask local law enforcement to hold him. Ibarra later moved to Georgia.   

On the morning of Feb. 22, Riley left her home and went for a run along a wooded trail on the Athens campus of her alma mater, the University of Georgia, but never returned. The body of the nursing student was found hours later, and authorities determined she had died from blunt force trauma and suffocation.  

“Laken Riley should be here today, but a criminal illegal alien killed her,” Britt recently wrote on X. “Passing the Laken Riley Act would prevent other families from experiencing the unimaginable pain Laken’s family is living through. The time is now. The Senate must pass the Laken Riley Act.”

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