[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S159-S160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            LAKEN RILEY ACT

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, it is more than 1,000 miles from El Paso, 
TX, to Athens, GA, yet a man who crossed the border illegally near El 
Paso was able to wreak havoc in Athens.
  Last February, an illegal immigrant murdered nursing student Laken 
Riley while she was out for a morning run on the Athens campus of the 
University of Georgia. This was a tragedy, and it was preventable. The 
man who killed Laken Riley should not have been in the United States in 
the first place. He definitely shouldn't have been on the streets after 
previously being involved in two crimes, but he was. It is, 
unfortunately, just one example of how the Biden border crisis has made 
every State a border State.
  Like many illegal immigrants whom law enforcement encounters at the 
border, Laken's killer was released on parole into the interior of the 
United States. He made his way to New York City, where he was arrested 
and released before a detainer could be issued and he could be turned 
over to immigration authorities. Then he went to Athens, GA. He was 
cited in Georgia for shoplifting. Once again, he was released, and now 
we know what happened next.
  Laken's killer is now serving a life sentence for murder, and while 
her family can perhaps take at least some comfort in the fact that 
justice has been served, Laken Riley should be alive today.
  The truth is that what happened to Laken Riley could have happened 
anywhere. That is why the Senate is currently considering Senator 
Britt's Laken Riley Act. This bill would help reduce the chances of 
another tragedy like this one by requiring that illegal immigrants be 
detained when they are charged with theft-related crimes like the one 
for which Laken's killer was cited less than 5 months before he killed 
her. If this bill had been law then, Laken Riley might well be alive 
today.

[[Page S160]]

  I hope to see this bill become law, and I hope that my Democrat 
colleagues are as committed to making it law as we are on this side of 
the aisle. This is not a comprehensive bill, but it is an important 
step toward keeping Americans safe, and it should be an easy ``yes'' 
vote for every Senator. We have had strong bipartisan votes for this 
bill in recent days, and I hope that will continue.
  We are going to have an amendment process here on the floor, the type 
of amendment process that has been lacking in recent years. We will 
push for votes on amendments that make this bill even stronger.
  One of the amendments that would do that is Senator Ernst's amendment 
known as Sarah's Law. Like Laken Riley, Sarah Root was killed by an 
illegal immigrant. Soon after graduating from college in 2016, Sarah 
was killed by a drunk driver who was in the country illegally. The 
driver was arrested, but he posted bond and fled shortly after the 
crash that took Sarah Root's life. The Root family didn't get justice. 
So Senator Ernst's amendment would require ICE to detain illegal 
immigrants accused of a crime that resulted in death or serious bodily 
injury.
  Every Member of the Senate should be able to agree that illegal 
immigrants who commit a crime that kills or seriously injures another 
person should, at the very least, be detained.
  In the coming days, the Senate will have a serious debate about this 
and other amendments and about the Laken Riley Act. That is the 
Senate's role. We will have a debate, and we will aim to produce the 
strongest bill that we can pass into law. That is our goal, and I hope 
our Democrat colleagues are as interested in making a law as we are.
  Mr. President, time will tell.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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