The US House of Representatives on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill allowing the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of theft-related crimes. The proposal has already been approved by both houses of Congress and only the signature of US President Donald Trump remains. Apparently, this will be the very first law that Trump will sign in his new term of office, AP and AFP agencies report.
The law in question (The Laken Riley Act) is named after the 22-year-old student Laken Riley from the US state of Georgia, who last year he murdered an undocumented Venezuelan accused of theft.
The legislation was approved earlier this week by the Republican-controlled Senate by a vote of 64:35. It passed the House before him, but the Senate also accepted it with amendments, and the lower house of Congress had to vote on it again. The Senate’s amendments related to the expansion of the mandatory detention of undocumented immigrants also on those accused of crimes that resulted in death or serious bodily injury.
The House of Representatives, in which Republicans also have a narrow majority of seats, passed the proposal without any problems even after the amendment, while as many as 46 Democrats joined the Republicans in voting. Several Democrats, however, expressed objections to the new legislation.
They pointed out, for example, that its implementation will cost $83 billion over the first three years, which is more than the annual budget of the US Department of Homeland Security. Democratic member of the House of Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that detaining people who are accused but not convicted is a departure from core American values. She also accused Republicans of the hypocrisy she said they committed on the issue of “law and order” when they did not oppose Trump’s pardon of hundreds of his supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump claimed in the election campaign that crack down on illegal immigrants and proceed with mass deportations. He repeatedly drew attention to the case of Laken Riley and railed against undocumented migrants, who accused of “poisoning the blood” of the US, reminds AFP.
