U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts joined several other Republican lawmakers on Thursday in calling on Senate Democrats to help pass the Laken Riley Act. Ricketts also called on President Joe Biden to secure the southern border.
The Laken Riley Act would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and detain illegal aliens who commit theft, burglary, larceny or shoplifting offenses. Riley was a nursing student at the University of Georgia and was murdered while jogging last month.
Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, is accused of killing her. “When people come to our border and continue to break our laws, they must be held accountable,” Ricketts says. “We must do better. This tragedy could have been avoided if President Biden didn’t have an open border policy. This tragedy could have been avoided if ICE had detained Jose Ibarra. But time after time, he was let go.”
Before being charged with felony murder, Ibarra crossed the border illegally in El Paso, Texas, in September of 2022. Ibarra was once arrested in New York prior to the murder for endangering a child and was cited in Georgia for shoplifting in October 2023, but was not detained by ICE.
“They need to be held accountable. They continue to break our laws and disrespect our laws. The Laken Riley Act will help address that injustice.”