Laken Riley Act is significant for immigration policy
Commentary - Thursday, February 6, 2025
By IAP Staff
Last week, President Trump signed his first bill as the 47th President of the United States, and IAP was honored to attend the White House signing ceremony. We were surrounded by policymakers, other groups dedicated to the fight for better immigration policy, and, most importantly, some of the Angel Families who have lost loved ones to illegal alien crime.
While we all recognize the critical importance of changing our immigration laws to protect Americans and serve the national interest, substantive immigration law changes have been rare. The Secure Fence Act of 2006 may be the last time we’ve been able to celebrate a bill signed into law, as opposed to the countless terrible immigration policy proposals that we’ve helped kill.
Killing bad bills has been critically important in stopping the total devastation of our country, but Wednesday was a different feeling. Of course, we were joyful that Congress finally came together to pass meaningful legislation. But we were simultaneously shattered by seeing Laken’s family, along with the families of Jocelyn Nungaray, Rachel Morin, Kayla Hamilton, and Sarah Root. All of these families lost a child to the criminal act of a person who never should have been here. And there are thousands of families over the years, just like theirs, who lost a loved one while Congress and the White House failed to act. Every crime committed by an illegal alien is a crime that should have been prevented, and the victims should have been protected by their government.
We were flooded with the memories of the many Angel Families we have spent time with and written legislation for over the past years. These families are why we fight. For lost loved ones, for jobs, and for the future of our country. Laken’s bill is an important first step in changing our immigration laws for the better.
The Laken Riley Act shouldn’t have been necessary, but in the end, it was. Now, ICE will be required to detain illegal aliens charged with theft or burglary-related offenses, assaulting an officer, or causing death or serious bodily injury. Critically, it gives state Attorneys General standing to sue administrations that release aliens contrary to the law, fail to issue visa sanctions against countries that refuse to take back their deported nationals, abuse parole authority, or fail to detain aliens ordered removed from the country.
There is so much more to do. Congress has to secure the border and close the loopholes that have been exploited. The government should be required to detain, return, or remove all illegal aliens with whom it comes into contact.
We have to bring the American immigration system into alignment with our national interests, which means ending chain migration and the visa lottery, stopping birthright citizenship for illegal aliens and visitors, and stopping guestworker programs that harm American workers. Our immigration system needs to finally serve the interests of Americans.
To the Angel Families, those we’ve gotten to know over our time working in immigration policy, and the thousands we’ve never met: We’ve never forgotten you, and we’ll never stop fighting for you.