Sen. Murray: Laken Riley Act will ‘throw immigration system into chaos’
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke against the Laken Riley Act on the Senate floor on Thursday, arguing the immigration bill will be overly expensive to implement, will undermine civil liberties and "throw our immigration system into chaos."
The Laken Riley Act passed Congress last week, and it is currently undergoing deliberations in the Senate.
What is the Laken Riley Act?
Big picture view:
The Laken Riley Act is an immigration enforcement bill that directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants who have previously been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.
It is a rather punitive step up from current federal procedures, which typically directs detainers to arrest immigrants with records of violent crimes, such as burglary, robbery, kidnapping, homicide, sexual assault, weapons offenses, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
It also allows for state governments to sue DHS for injunctive relief over immigration-related decisions that cost them more than $100 in financial harm.
Who is Laken Riley?
The backstory:
The bill is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who had previously been arrested and released by U.S. Border Patrol. Ibarra was sentenced to life without parole in Nov. 2024.
Laken Riley Act controversy
What we know:
Murray argues the bill — sponsored by Republicans but which has garnered support from a growing number of Democrats — is costly, overly broad, wasteful and will undermine due process and Supreme Court precedent.
"We are talking $83 billion over the first three years to implement this bill—that’s more than the annual budget for the entire Department of Homeland Security," Murray said on the Senate floor. "That’s a lot of money to spend on a bill that is going to cause chaos, punish legal immigrants, and undermine due process in America—all while drawing resources away from true threats."
Murray argues the bill needs ‘serious amendments’ before being approved, as in its current form, it may lead to unintended consequences and powers that could be abused.
Why you should care:
"As written, it will drastically undermine civil liberties in this country. It will throw our immigration system into absolute chaos by undermining any President’s authority to shape federal policy. It will cost tens of billions of dollars," said Murray. "And here is the kicker—it will end up punishing legal immigrants and diverting resources from detaining true threats to public safety."
Murray says the bill's language is broad enough to not necessarily require a person to be guilty of a crime in order to be deported. The person could be arrested and charged even if they are innocent or they are a child, she argues, and will allow state officials to bypass ICE to seek deportation court orders or halt visas from certain countries.
"With such sweeping language, I am deeply concerned the Trump administration could abuse this law to deport Dreamers, or our farmworkers, or other essential workers who, again, may never be convicted of a crime," Murray said.
By the numbers:
ICE will be left with fewer resources to pursue the most serious crimes if they are caught up detaining nonviolent immigrants, Murray says, and DHS lacks the resources to enforce the bill.
ICE has estimated that it would need to triple its budget in one year to keep up with the bill.
"ICE would need more than three times the current number of detention beds, a 265% increase, for this. It would need to execute 80 removal flights a week—almost double its current capacity. Not to mention, it would need to double ground transportation. That all adds up to ICE needing to nearly double its staff, hiring over 18,000 additional people," said Murray.
It is unclear where the bill goes from here. The bill cleared several legislative hurdles in the Senate, and Democrats are currently pushing for amendments to the bill. It is not yet known if there will be enough Democrat support to get the bill through to the President's desk.
The Source: Information comes from Patty Murray's office, the U.S. Congress website, and previously FOX Television Stations coverage.
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