{"id":29851,"date":"2025-01-07T09:34:33","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T09:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/07\/republicans-look-to-finally-push-through-laken-riley-bill-with-new-gop-trifecta\/"},"modified":"2025-01-07T09:34:33","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T09:34:33","slug":"republicans-look-to-finally-push-through-laken-riley-bill-with-new-gop-trifecta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/07\/republicans-look-to-finally-push-through-laken-riley-bill-with-new-gop-trifecta\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans look to finally push through Laken Riley bill with new GOP trifecta"},"content":{"rendered":"

FIRST ON FOX:<\/strong> Senate Republicans are preparing to take up several measures in the new year that were denied votes by Democrats in the last Congress. The first of these is the Laken Riley Act<\/a>, being reintroduced by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and teed up for a vote by the end of the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The measure was named for the 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student\u00a0who was found dead on the University of Georgia’s campus in February. Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant, was found guilty<\/a> of 10 total counts, including felony murder. He initially pleaded not guilty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bill would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)<\/a> to arrest and detain illegal immigrants that have committed theft, burglary or shoplifting until they are deported. Additionally, states would have standing under the legislation to take civil action against members of the federal government that do not enforce immigration law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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“It\u2019s impossible to fully describe what was taken from Laken and from our family on February 22, 2024. Laken\u2019s life was abundantly and exceptionally full of promise. She was a beautiful, shining beacon in the life of everyone who knew her.\u00a0Not only did the\u00a0people who\u00a0knew and loved Laken lose a\u00a0beautiful\u00a0soul, but so did our\u00a0world.\u00a0Laken shared her love for Jesus with everyone she\u00a0encountered.\u00a0Laken’s passion for sharing her faith through acts of kindness were felt by everyone she\u00a0met.\u00a0Laken was selfless, hardworking and made those around her feel special.\u00a0Laken did not just talk about\u00a0her faith, she led\u00a0by example,”\u00a0said Allyson and John Phillips, Laken Riley\u2019s mother and stepfather, in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The Laken Riley Act has our full support because it would help save innocent lives and prevent more families from going through the kind of heartbreak we\u2019ve experienced. Laken would have been 23 on January\u00a010th.\u00a0 There is no\u00a0greater gift that could be given to her and our country than to continue her legacy by saving lives through this bill.\u00a0Every single member of Congress should be able to get behind this purely commonsense bill that will make our country and communities safer. We thank Congressman Mike Collins, Senator Katie Britt, and Senator Ted Budd for continuing to work to honor Laken\u2019s legacy and get this legislation enacted into law.”<\/p>\n

It was first introduced in the House by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., in March and in the Senate by Britt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PRO-ISRAEL DEM COULD TIP SCALES IN KEY SENATE COMMITTEE AS MIDDLE EAST WAR CONTINUES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

However, the bill never received a Senate floor vote relating to the standalone legislation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Republicans have an incoming trifecta in the federal government, unified in its prioritization of the southern border and tackling illegal immigration, and GOP lawmakers see a big opportunity to push through key legislation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Last year, Laken Riley was stolen from this earth\u2014from her family and friends and from achieving her dreams\u2014by a brutal, heartless killer. Make no mistake\u2014he never should have been in the United States, much less allowed to freely roam American streets after being charged with multiple crimes. Laken\u2019s murder was the direct consequence of willful open border policies,” Britt said in a statement to Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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“The American people did not just deliver a mandate on November 5, they delivered a verdict. They made it clear they want to remove criminal illegal aliens and protect American families. We will soon know whether Democrats hear, respect, and obey that verdict. Congress has an obligation to Laken, her family, and to families in every corner of our country to do everything in our power to help prevent this type of tragedy from occurring again. That\u2019s why it\u2019s imperative we pass the commonsense Laken Riley Act with all due haste. No other American family needs to feel the pain Laken\u2019s family still feels 320 days after losing her,” she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Collins said in his own statement, “An illegal criminal came into my district and killed Laken Riley because our local law enforcement did not have the tools to stop him. Laken fought until her last breath, and so will I until this bill crosses the finish line and lands on the President\u2019s desk.”<\/p>\n

The measure was co-led in the Senate by Sen. Tedd Budd, R-N.C., who said in a statement, “What happened to Laken Riley should never happen to any American citizen. As we turn the page from the disastrous open-border policies of Joe Biden, the Laken Riley Act will empower the Trump administration to enforce our laws, keep our nation secure, and prevent tragedies. I thank Senator Britt for her partnership and her leadership in this bipartisan effort.”<\/p>\n

Now that Republicans control the Senate, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., at the helm, a vote is expected on the bill, and in short measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘LIVES DEPEND ON IT’: REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR PROMPT TRUMP CONFIRMATIONS IN WAKE OF NEW ORLEANS ATTACK<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A source familiar shared with Fox News Digital that a vote in the upper chamber is likely to take place on Friday, and Democrats will be forced to go on the record.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the measure is only backed by Republicans, it will fail to overcome the legislative filibuster, which requires that bills garner 60 votes in order to end debate and proceed. Notably, new Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., voted in favor of the bill in the House last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vote will put a spotlight on the Georgia Senate delegation, as Riley was a constituent of theirs. In particular, all eyes will be on Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who is up for re-election in 2026 in the state that President-elect Donald Trump won.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans are preparing to take up several measures in the new year that were denied votes by Democrats in the last Congress. The first of these is the Laken Riley Act, being reintroduced by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and teed up for a vote by the end of the week.\u00a0 The … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29851\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}