On January 29th, President Trump signed the Laken Rikey Act into law. This law now requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain and deport non-U.S. nationals who are accused, but not yet convicted, of “theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and any crime that causes death or serious bodily injury.” The law has received support from Republicans and some Democrats, with 12 Democratic senators voting in support of the bill in order to send it to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Background

Laken Rikey was a nursing student who was murdered by Jose Ibarra, a man who was initially arrested for illegal entry into the United States in 2022 near El Paso, Texas. Ibarra was temporarily released by immigration officials due to the surge in immigration and was allowed to pursue his case in immigration court. 

Contents of the Law

The law aims to immediately deport undocumented immigrants if they are arrested for specific crimes, regardless if they have been convicted of the crime. Trump and his Republican allies have pushed for the passing of the law, arguing that the law gives law enforcement the means to detain illegal immigrants once arrested. Additionally, the law also grants States the power to sue the federal government if it fails to enforce this immigration policy.

Supporters of the law argue that the law provides the necessary to keep illegal immigrants accused of crime off the streets. The law also aims to enforce border security and mass deportation. They also believe that this law will “prevent situations like what occurred to Laken Riley” as stated by Arizona’s democratic Senator Ruben Gallego.

Critics of the law argue that it strips migrants of their right to due process of the law as they would be deported without having been found guilty of the accused crime. The law would grant law enforcement the power to arrest, detain, and deport an immigrant even if the police later concluded that he was not involved in the crime. Critics argue that the nation currently lacks the safeguards necessary to ensure that immigrants who have temporarily protected status, such as immigrants under DACA, are protected from the law as they might be accidentally detained and deported before receiving their due process. Additionally, Democrats have criticized the law for failing to allocate funds to support the law’s initiative as the law is estimated to cost $83 billion over the next three years and does not address the root causes of immigration.