OKC Standard

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) joined the entire Senate GOP conference and Democrat Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) in reintroducing the Laken Riley Act. The legislation is named after University of Georgia student Laken Riley, who was murdered by illegal immigrant José Antonio Ibarra on February 22, 2024. Ibarra had entered the United States illegally and had multiple previous offenses related to theft and child endangerment.

Senator Mullin stated, “Laken Riley’s murder was a devastating, cruel, and horribly preventable tragedy.” He added that he co-sponsored the act to require ICE to arrest illegal aliens who commit theft-related offenses and mandate their detention until removal from the United States. Mullin urged all senators to support this legislation.

Allyson and John Phillips, Laken Riley’s mother and stepfather, expressed their support for the bill: “It’s impossible to fully describe what was taken from Laken and from our family on February 22, 2024... The Laken Riley Act has our full support because it would help save innocent lives and prevent more families from going through the kind of heartbreak we’ve experienced.”

The proposed legislation mandates U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal aliens committing theft-related crimes and ensures their detention until deportation. It also allows states to bring civil actions against federal officials who fail to enforce immigration laws.

Previously introduced by Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Ted Budd in Congress, alongside Representative Mike Collins (R-GA), the bill passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 251-170 but faced opposition in the Senate where Democrats blocked its progress.