by Nicholas Ballasy
The GOP-led House will vote on the Laken Riley Act on Thursday ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union, according to Majority Leader Steve Scalise, after Riley was killed allegedly by an illegal immigrant released under the Biden administration.
Prior to Riley’s death, Jose Ibarra was transported to New York after Border Patrol encountered him at the border. He was later arrested by police in Queens, New York, for endangering a 5-year-old who was riding on the back of his moped “without a helmet,” according to media reports.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has said Ibarra could have been taken into ICE custody at that time but “he was released by the NYPD before a detainer could be issued.”
Scalise said the bill would hold the Biden administration “accountable for these tragedies” as well as require the detention of illegal immigrants who commit certain crimes. It would also “allow states to sue” the Biden administration for “not enforcing parole.”
According to the official text of the bill, “the Biden administration should not have released Laken Riley’s alleged murderer into the United States.”
The administration “should have arrested and detained Laken Riley’s alleged murderer after he was charged with crimes in New York, New York, and Athens, Georgia,” the text of the bill read. “President Biden should publicly denounce his administration’s immigration policies that resulted in the murder of Laken Riley.”
The bill urges Biden to “prevent another murder like that of Laken Riley (pictured above) by ending the catch-and-release of illegal aliens, increasing immigration enforcement, detaining and removing criminal aliens, reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy, ending his abuse of parole authority, and securing the United States borders.”
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., has called on Biden to mention Riley during his State of the Union address. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if he would do so this week but she did not directly answer the question.
“I don’t have anything to share about the president’s speech as it relates to that particularly question you have but we want to always, always be sure we lift up the families who have lost their loved ones in that way,” she said.
Banks said her response was “shameful.”
– – –
Nicholas Ballasy has been breaking news for more than a decade in the nation’s capital and questioning political leaders about the most pressing issues facing the nation.
Photo “Laken Riley” by Laken Riley.
