If the success of Donald Trump and the GOP in November’s election sent a message from voters about illegal immigration, it didn’t reach the Democrats who represent the Delaware Valley in Congress.
On Tuesday, the U.S. House cast its first vote of the 119th Congress, passing the Laken Riley Act in a bipartisan 264 to 159 vote. Every Republican supported the bill, which requires the detention of illegal immigrants caught committing robbery or theft, as did 48 Democrats.
The same bill was passed by the House last March, but died in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks/Montgomery) voted for it both times, while all three Delaware Valley Democratic congresswomen –Mary Gay Scanlon, Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan— twice voted no.
The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to take it up on Friday. All 53 Republicans are co-sponsoring the bill, as is one Democrat: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was murdered last February by José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, while she was jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens. Ibarra had been arrested in 2022 after entering the U.S. illegally. The Biden administration then allowed him to be “paroled and released for further processing,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said.
Ibarra was later arrested by New York City police in September 2023– less than six months before killing Riley — and charged with “acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation,” according to ICE.
Ibarra was arrested again a month later, along with his brother, for allegedly shoplifting at a Walmart in Athens. But because the crime was a misdemeanor, he was released.
Riley’s murder shocked the country. It became a cause celebre, especially among Republicans, who brought up the murder at last year’s State of the Union Address, where President Biden mispronounced her name.
Riley’s body was found Feb. 22, 2024. She was repeatedly struck in the head with a rock and suffocated. Ibarra, was convicted in November and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
“Today, I voted to restore law and order at our borders and reaffirm the safety and sovereignty of our great nation,” Fitzpatrick said on X. “The Laken Riley Act delivers a clear message: those who threaten the safety of our communities will be held accountable. By mandating the immediate detention of illegal immigrants charged with crimes, this legislation puts an end to the dangerous policies that have left American families vulnerable for far too long.
“Laken’s tragic and preventable death is a sobering reminder of the price of inaction.”
Houlahan, on the other hand, attacked the legislation as “carefully written to intentionally erode constitutional protections, beginning with undocumented immigrants.”
She added, “Trump promised these kinds of dangerous changes, and the Republicans in Congress are desperately trying to satisfy him regardless of the implications of the legislation should it become law.”
Dean did not respond to requests for comment.
Scanlon said on her website, “Today, House Republicans made their first priority in the 119th Congress the passage of a bill that is best characterized as ‘legislative clickbait’ – a bill designed to generate headlines and social media clicks, rather than actually solving a problem. Unsurprisingly, H.R. 29 is a continuation of a campaign strategy of stoking fear of immigrants while doing nothing to secure the border or fix our immigration system. Instead, H.R. 29 actually creates new legal problems.”
The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain illegal aliens who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. It also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.
To reach the Senate floor, the bill will need 60 votes in the 53-47 GOP-controlled chamber. Two Democrats, Fetterman and Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, who is up for reelection in 2026, are already on board.
“Laken Riley’s story is a tragic reminder of what’s at stake when our systems fail to protect people. No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to preventable violence,” Fetterman said in a statement.
Asked about his support for the legislation, Fetterman told Fox News, “It’s really commonsense. I’d like to remind everybody that we have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of migrants here illegally convicted of crimes. Who wants to defend them, to allow them to remain in our nation?”
