U.S. lawmakers pass bill to deport unauthorised immigrants charged with minor crimes
![Illegal immigrants [Credit: Courthouse news service]](https://gazettengr.com/wp-content/uploads/Illegal-immigrants.png)
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to deport illegal immigrants charged with minor crimes.
The bill, called the Laken Riley Act, passed Tuesday on a 264-159 vote, with 48 Democrats joining Republicans, will be in the Senate on Friday.
The bill, if passed into law, will require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand the deportation net by detaining undocumented immigrants charged with less serious crimes, including burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.
It will also provide for state attorneys general to sue the U.S. government if federal authorities set free an illegal immigrant who is later arrested for committing other crimes.
“The death of Laken Riley was a senseless and preventable tragedy, and now that her murderer is behind bars, we owe it to Laken to do everything we can to ensure any migrant who enters the country illegally and commits a crime is never given the opportunity to harm innocent Americans,” John Cornyn, a senator from Texas, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the law in place provides for the arrest and deportation of both illegal immigrants and legal permanent residents charged with serious or violent crimes, including aggravated felonies, drug possession or drunk driving.
The bill was named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University in Georgia, killed in February 2024 by José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan man who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border through El Paso in 2022.
The suspect, who had been arrested for shoplifting at a Georgia Walmart months prior, was, in November, sentenced to life in jail for killing the student without the possibility of parole.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Showbiz
Actor Femi Adebayo unveils entertainment hub in Lagos
Nollywood actor and filmmaker, Femi Adebayo, on Tuesday unveiled an entertainment hub, a film and media production facility in Oregun, Lagos.

Politics
Tinubu’s door-to-door movement suspends campaign over plane crash
The President Bola Tinubu Door-to-Door Movement has suspended its campaign activities for one week following the killing of military operatives in an aircraft crash.

States
Gov Mbah appoints Richard Agu as transport commissioner
Mr Ozor resigned after an alleged Economic and Financial Crimes Commission probe into embezzlement of billions of naira.

Lagos
Yoruba leaders establish platform for unity, collective action
Yoruba leaders across socio-political and advocacy groups have established Yoruba Parapo as a central platform for unity, consultation and collective action.

Politics
Gov Idris buys house to relocate mosque in Malami’s Birnin Kebbi community
Governor Nasir Idris approved the purchase of a building to relocate a temporary mosque in the Go-Slow Road area of Birnin Kebbi, a community near Abubakar Malami’s family house.

States
Aguleri-Anam Violence: Soludo orders ceasefire, sets up inquiry commissionÂ
On Friday, the Anambra government ordered the closure of Otuocha Market after a clash between Aguleri and Umuoba-Anam communities, which resulted in five deaths.





