President Trump signs Laken Riley Act, his first law since White House return
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law Wednesday, empowering immigration officers to detain unauthorized immigrants when they're arrested for crimes.
It's the first law signed by Trump in his second term after campaigning on sealing the U.S.-Mexico border and pursuing mass deportations to stop what he's called an "invasion" of migrants into the country.
"It's a landmark law that we're doing today," Trump said from the White House. "It's going to save countless innocent American lives."
More: Congress passes Laken Riley Act. Bill heads to Donald Trump's desk for expected signature
The law is named for the late Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student killed February 22, 2024 during a jog in Athens, Georgia, by a Venezuelan national in the country illegally who was previously arrested for shoplifting but not detained. Riley became a rallying cry for Trump and Republicans during the 2024 election.
"America will never, ever forget Laken Hope Riley," Trump said. "This horrific atrocity should never have been allowed to happen. And as president, I'm fighting every single day to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again."
The new law requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to detain people who are in the United States without legal status who are arrested, charged with or accused of certain crimes including burglary, theft, larceny and shoplifting, or assaulting a law enforcement officer. An individual does not have to be convicted of the crime in court, only accused of one, to be detained and deported.
Allyson Phillips, the mother of Laken Riley, sat next to Vice President JD Vance in the front row of a signing ceremony in the White House East Room.
Tearing up in brief remarks, Phillips thanked Trump for keeping "the promises he made to us."
"He said he would secure our borders and that he would never forget about Laken," Phillips said. "And he hasn't because he's a man of his word."
The bill passed Congress with bipartisan support, clearing the Senate by a wide 65-34-vote including backing from 12 swing-state Democrats ? a sign of the liability that border control has become for the left. It passed the House by a 264-159 margin, with 48 Democrats voting for it.
"That's why I'm here instead of somebody else," Trump said of the potency of the immigration issue in the 2024 election. "Actually, it's the biggest reason. I believe it's the single biggest reason."
Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democratic senator who voted in favor of the legislation, attended the bill signing alongside several congressional Republicans, including bill sponsors Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama and Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia.
Contributing: Reuters.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump signs Laken Riley Act into law