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

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.”

States
Lightning strike kills six people in Adamawa
The police command in Adamawa has confirmed the death of six people following a lightning strike in the Ganye council.

States
Cross River govt exempts women, elderly drivers from vehicle registration, levies
The Cross River government has exempted women in commercial transport and men aged 60 and above from paying vehicle registration and daily operational levies.

Politics
INEC says Osun residents’ PVCs ready for collection ahead of governorship poll
INEC has announced that PVCs of eligible voters who registered or updated their records during the recent CVR exercise in the state are ready for collection.

Sport
13-year-old boy killed as Spaniards celebrate 2026 World Cup win
A 13-year-old boy was killed after the Árbol Gordo fountain collapsed as football fans gathered to celebrate the country’s World Cup win.

States
Gas tanker leak contained in Kaduna: KADSEMA
The executive secretary of KADSEMA, Usman Mazadu, said the agency has contained a compressed gas tanker leak in Kaduna South.

World
Iran War: Three U.S. servicemen killed
Another American service member has been reported killed by fragments of a downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq, raising the number of U.S. troops killed last week to three.





