Legislation named after the dearly departed Laken Riley, a victim of a heinous illegal alien crime, should secure our border and empower President Trump to deport dangerous immigrants without judicial interference. But the bill named the Laken Riley Act accomplishes neither.
Instead, this Democrat co-sponsored legislation tries to authorize courts to rule in favor of state Attorneys General who might sue the federal government to enforce immigration laws. The recent election gave that mandate directly to President Trump, beginning in less than a week, and Congress should be strengthening his hand rather than diffusing power elsewhere.
Democrats are all-too-happy to support this bill and breathe a sigh of relief at how Republicans on Capitol Hill are failing to enactthe strong policies against immigration crime that Trump campaigned on. In this narrow window of time when GOP strength is at its zenith, fresh from winning an election based on this issue, congressional Republicans are not pushing for strong border security legislation.
Nursing student Laken Riley was the victim of a horrible, despicable crime, brutally raped and murdered by an illegal alien while she taking a morning jog on the nearby University of Georgia campus. House Republicans initially designed, introduced and approved this legislation last year in an attempt to counter Biden rather than empower Trump.
Riley’s killer was previously caught after he illegally crossed our southern border, but then released into our country under Biden Administration policy. Subsequently he was arrested but released by New York officials after being charged with attempting to harm a minor there, and he later murdered young Laken Riley while she was innocently jogging in Georgia.
This Laken Riley Act was the first bill taken up for a floor vote in the new 119th session of the House, but it is far weaker than it should be in light of the election results in November. This legislation is nothing like the strong campaign speeches given by Trump to his record-breaking audiences, and this new law will give more power to liberal judges rather than to the incoming President Trump.
This bill gives new authority to state Attorneys General, but half of them are against Trump on this all-important issue such that giving them more power does not help. Officials in sanctuary or pro-immigration cities can easily circumvent the new requirements in this legislation, and already California has allocated $25 million to frustrate Trump’s deportation of dangerous illegal aliens.
Democrats co-sponsored this misnamed (because it is too weak) Laken Riley Act in the Senate, and 48 Democrats in the House voted for this when it passed last week as H.R. 29.
Democrat senators may dilute this legislation further by amendments that the Republican Majority Leader, John Thune (R-SD), has pledged to accommodate. In its current form this bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain illegal aliens who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.
Courts typically side with illegal aliens, and the litigation envisioned by this legislation could take years to resolve. Our country cannot wait, and Trump could order DHS to begin deporting dangerous illegal aliens next week if Republicans in Congress would stand up now on this issue.
Congress should be withdrawing jurisdiction from courts over immigration issues to prevent rulings like the recent one by Obama-appointed federal Judge William Kuntz, which requires the Suffolk County, New York, sheriff to pay $60 million for complying with federal detainer requests issued by ICE. The illegal alien criminals were represented pro bono in federal court by a major law firm funded by large corporate clients.
The crimes targeted by H.R. 29 are offenses against property, even petty shoplifting. People who are in our country illegally committing property crimes should be detained, but this bill fails to prevent the monstrous violent crimes that are being committed by illegals.
Unleashing lawsuits against the federal government could mean allowing new use of the courts by liberal states against the Trump Administration. Congress has this completely backwards to expect federal courts to be fixing the flaws in our immigration system, when Congress itself should be doing that.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that States lack Article III standing under the Constitution to compel enforcement of federal immigration laws, and no bill enacted by Congress can specifically overcome that. Reports in the media that this law will overturn a ruling based on the Constitution by the Supreme Court are false, because Congress lacks such authority.
Congress should be enacting a bill to construct a border wall and to withdraw jurisdiction from federal courts to interfere with any deportations by President Trump. Something called the “Laken Riley Act” should include meaningful protections against repetition of the unspeakable crime committed by an illegal alien against her.
John and Andy Schlafly are sons of Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016) and lead the continuing Phyllis Schlafly Eagles organizations with writing and policy work.