Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., is introducing legislation that would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants who are charged with local theft or burglary, after a migrant accused of such crimes was released and later charged with the murder of an American college student.
The Laken Riley Act is named after 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley, a college nursing student who was recently killed on the campus of University of Georgia. Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal immigrant from Venezuela charged with the brutal murder, had been arrested multiple times prior to the murder, but was not detained by ICE.
Before being charged with felony murder, Ibarra was arrested for driving under the influence and driving without a license, the Middle District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a press release citing a sworn affidavit and criminal complaint against the migrant. He also was cited for shoplifting in October 2023, according to police. Collins’ new bill would have required ICE to detain Ibarra after these first offenses, and prior to the death of Riley.
Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District of Athens – where the fatal attack occurred – said the murder of Riley is a “wakeup call” for America and the bill seeks to combat the “illegal crime wave” that he attributes to the ongoing border crisis.
TRUMP SAYS HE SPOKE TO ‘DEVASTATED’ PARENTS OF LAKEN RILEY, BLASTS BIDEN BORDER CRISIS ‘LIKE A WAR’
“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,” Collins told Fox News Digital.
The congressman said the legislation will work to prevent similar tragic incidents from occurring as a result of the open southern border.
LAKEN RILEY MURDER: ATHENS-CLARK COUNTY SHERIFF CAMPAIGNED ON NOT ‘COOPERATING’ WITH ICE: ‘CULTURE OF FEAR’
“I wish we could bring Laken…
Read the full article here
