Law approved that allows migrants with a history of theft to be arrested in the US – 2024-03-12 11:04:05

The House of Representatives of the United States Congress approved a new bill that would allow federal authorities to detain undocumented migrants who have a history of theft in the country.

This initiative received considerable support, with 251 votes in favor and 179 against. Most of the votes in favor came from members of the Republican Party, while 37 were made by Democratic officials.

With this, the initiative will now be presented before the United States Senate, where its possible implementation will be debated. However, it is very likely that Democrats, who are the majority in the Senate, will block its entry into force.

According to the medium America TeVéthe bill was introduced because of the death of Laken Riley, a young nursing student at Augusta University, Georgia, last February.

Riley, 22, was running during the morning when she was intercepted, assaulted and murdered by Venezuelan citizen José Ibarra, near the University of Georgia.

Ibarra, who committed the violent crime in order to keep the young woman’s belongings, now faces charges of robbery with malice, serious murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a call to 911 and concealing the death of a person. .

The Venezuelan had already been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, and received a summons for theft. Despite this, he had not been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The measure, if it goes into effect, would cause ICE to issue arrest warrants for illegal immigrants who have charges or summonses for local burglary or trespassing.

Additionally, it would allow states to take individual action against the federal government in the event that an immigration-related action harms the state or its citizens.

Riley’s death has been used in recent weeks by the Republican party to criticize the border policies of the Joe Biden administration. In this regard, Mike Johnson, president of the House of Representatives, stressed that his party will not sit idly by while “dangerous criminals” are released on US soil.

For their part, Democrats have criticized this initiative, pointing out that Republicans are using the Riley tragedy for political purposes against Biden, and that said legislation was more of a political message than a solution to the problems at the border.