Rep. Calvert Votes for the Laken Riley Act to Protect Americans

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41) voted along with a majority (264 to 159) of the House of Representatives to pass the Laken Riley Act, H.R. 29, legislation aimed at protecting Americans from criminal illegal immigrants. The bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to take into custody illegal immigrants who have been charged with, arrested for, or convicted of theft offenses, as was the case with Laken Riley’s killer. This legislation mandates that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detain such illegal immigrants until they can be removed from the country.

“The murder of Laken Riley, and countless others like her, could have been prevented if we enforced our immigration and public safety laws,” said Rep. Calvert. “I voted for the Laken Riley Act to protect Americans from violent criminals and those who have demonstrated time and time again that they cannot abide by our laws. We are a nation that welcomes immigrants who follow the law and come here to better their lives. We are not a nation that blindly welcomes criminals into our communities.”

The bill is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia, who was murdered on February 22, 2024, after being struck in the head with a rock several times and asphyxiated by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan who entered the U.S. illegally and was arrested by police twice before. Last year, Ibarra was convicted on a total of 10 charges, including murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, and aggravated assault with intent to rape. Ibarra crossed the border into Texas on September 8, 2022. He was quickly paroled and released, due to the Biden Administration’s abuse of the requirements of the immigration parole statute. He was later arrested in New York for endangering the welfare of a child, but he remained free to re-offend because ICE did not arrest and detain him. Once in Georgia, Ibarra was arrested for shoplifting but again remained free to offend after ICE did not arrest and detain him.

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