Indy Standard

Today, the Senate passed the Laken Riley Act with a 64-35 vote. The legislation mandates that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest illegal aliens who commit certain offenses, including theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or any crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury. These individuals would be detained until they are removed from the United States to prevent further offenses.

The bill also allows states to bring civil actions against federal officials who fail to enforce immigration laws or violate them. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) expressed his support for the legislation by stating: “Laken Riley should still be with us today. The man who killed Laken entered the United States illegally and was arrested and released multiple times before killing Laken.”

Senator Young emphasized that securing the border is a national security priority and described this bill as one of many steps needed to counteract what he referred to as "the Biden Administration’s open border policies."

Having passed the Senate, the bill will now proceed to the House for consideration. Senator Young had previously supported this act in the 118th Congress and recently addressed it on the Senate floor.