House passes bill to deport unauthorized immigrants charged of minor crimes

On Tuesday, January 7, the House of Representatives passed its first bill of the year, a border security measure mandating the detention and deportation of unauthorized immigrants charged with theft-related offenses, such as shoplifting and burglary. Forty-eight Democrats also joined the Republicans in supporting the legislation.

The bill, which does not require immigrants to be convicted, is expected to also pass in the Senate.

On the same day that the Laken Riley Act bill was passed, Border Patrol agents were spotted in Bakersfield. Many have spotted the border patrol cars in different parts of the city and are targeting immigrants with minor crimes. People on social media are sharing that they are also targeting people on freeways, in the fields and even going to people's homes.

The bill was named in honor of Riley, a nursing student who was murdered by Venezuelan immigrant Jose Ibarra while jogging on campus at the University of Georgia in February of 2024. Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. That's how the legislation gained bipartisan support, passing with a 264-159 vote.

“Laken Riley was brutally murdered by an illegal alien that President Biden and the Democrats let into this country with their open border policy," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement after the vote. "It is hard to believe that after countless horrific stories like Laken’s, any House Democrats would vote against deporting illegal aliens who commit violent crimes against American citizens.”

The New York Times and the Associated Press reported that border patrol apprehended Ibarra when he entered the U.S. illegally near the border in El Paso in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case.