Laken Riley Act passes Senate as Catholic bishops urge ‘meaningful immigration reform’

A bill that would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain immigrants who entered the country illegally if they commit certain crimes passed the Senate as Catholic bishops reiterate their call for “meaningful immigration reform.”

The Laken Riley Act would subject immigrants who entered the country illegally to detainment if they are charged with or arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault on an officer, or a crime that results in death or serious bodily injury. Those detentions could lead to subsequent deportation proceedings.

The House of Representatives passed a similar bill with the same name earlier this month but did not include assault on an officer or crimes that involve death or serious bodily injury in its version. House lawmakers can either pass the Senate version or offer their own amendments to the bill, which is expected to pass in some form.

Under current law, officials are allowed to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally when they commit those crimes but are not required to do so. The legislation is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old woman who was murdered by José Antonio Ibarra — a Venezuelan national who was in the country illegally and remained in the country after an earlier arrest for shoplifting.

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