Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) cast doubt on whether the Senate would bring the Laken Riley Act to vote.
The House passed the Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia student who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, last week in a 251 to 170 vote. The Act would require immigration officials to detain immigrants charged with violent crimes. According to Johnson, the bill is unlikely to advance any further, however.
“The Senate, with the Lincoln Riley bills, is certain it won’t be brought up, just like we haven’t held one hearing on the open border,” Johnson said.
He went on to direct his criticism against the Biden administration’s immigration policy more broadly, and bashed Biden for apologizing for calling the illegal immigrant who murdered Riley an “illegal.”
“So you can basically say that not only does the Biden administration, their open border policy, facilitate some of the multibillion-dollar business models, some of the most evil people on the planet,” he said, referring to allegations that Chinese organized crime was cooperating with Mexican drug cartels to send fentanyl over the border. “We literally are paying in orchestrating this invasion of America that is a clear and present danger to this country. This is beyond the pale, and yet President Biden is apologizing for calling a murderer an illegal immigrant.”
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The Laken Riley Act was partly Republicans‘ response to the worsening border crisis and was touted by House Republicans as a way to ensure murders like that of Riley would be prevented in the future.
“Laken Riley would still be alive if the Biden Administration had done its job. House Republicans are not going to stand by quietly while the President and his administration release dangerous criminals into our communities,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement following the bill’s passage. “The Laken Riley Act would help prevent future tragedies. If Senator Schumer and President Biden care to protect Americans and are serious about securing the border, they will bring this legislation up for a vote and sign it into law immediately.”
