Trump notches legislative win with passage of Laken Riley Act

Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act on Wednesday, marking the first legislative win for his administration’s hardline immigration agenda since he took office earlier this month.

The legislation mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes, and allows state attorneys general to sue the federal government if they believe their states had been harmed by its failure to enforce immigration laws.

The Laken Riley Act is named after a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was murdered in 2023 by Jose Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. Last November, Ibarra was found guilty and was sentenced to life without parole.

Speaking about the legislation during his meeting with House Republicans at his Miami golf club this week, Trump said: “To have a bill of such importance named after her is a great tribute.”

“This shows the potential for additional enforcement bills that will help us crack down on criminal aliens and totally restore the rule of law in our country,” he added.

Immigration rights advocates have warned against the legislation, with Sarah Mehta, senior border policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, saying: “This is an extreme and reactive bill that will authorize the largest expansion of mandatory detention we have seen in decades, sweeping in children, Dreamers, parents of US citizen children and other longtime members of their communities who even [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] thinks should not be detained.”

Mehta also pointed out that this “legislation offers no solutions to improve our immigration system”.

Similarly, Mari Urbina, managing director of the progressive group Indivisible, told the Guardian: “Reinforcing Republicans’ anti-immigrant messaging and handing them political wins without a fight is not a plan … Immigration policy is a messaging playground for Republicans who use immigrants as scapegoats to expand their power but never offer real solutions, and Democrats should not play.”

Since taking office earlier this month, Trump has signed a flurry of anti-immigration orders including an end to birthright citizenship – which a US judge temporarily blocked – suspension of refugee admissions and an order that declared migration an “invasion”.