US President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, named after a slain Georgia nursing student whose name became a rallying cry during his election campaign. The act mandates detention and possible deportation of illegal immigrants accused of theft and violent offences, prior to any conviction.
“We’re going to send them out to Guantanamo,” Trump said during the signing ceremony. Trump described it as “a landmark law that we’re doing today.”
“It’s so sad we have to be doing it. Her name will live forever in the laws of our country,” Trump added.
Trump expressed gratitude for the bipartisan support of the Laken Riley Act, representing his first initiative to strengthen immigration regulations.
Riley, aged 22, was a nursing student at Augusta University College of Nursing student. She was killed after a violent confrontation with Jose Antonio Ibarra when she went for a run on February 22, 2024.
Following a judge-only trial where Ibarra declined his right to jury proceedings, he received a guilty verdict for murder and additional offences. The court imposed a life sentence without possibility of parole.
Former President Donald Trump and fellow Republican party members blamed President Joe Biden for Riley’s death. They cited Ibarra’s previous arrest for unlawful entry near El Paso, Texas, in September 2022, during an unprecedented migration surge, after which he was released pending immigration court proceedings.
“If this act had been the law of the land, he never would have had the opportunity to kill her,” Representative Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican said.
