Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Laken Riley Act, named after the 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who an undocumented immigrant murdered, will pass in the Senate with 60 votes or more.
Host Jake Tapper said, “Let’s turn to Congress right now. The Senate voted this week to advance your legislation, The Laken Riley Act, which would require federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants who have been charged with, arrested for, or convicted of burglary, theft or shoplifting. You have support from some Democrats. Other Democrats say the way the bill is written, they believe, could result in thousands of people being detained indefinitely simply for being accused of a crime without actually having been charged or convicted, violating due process rights. Are they wrong?”
Britt said, “Yeah, look, The Laken Riley Act is ultimately going to save lives. It is a commonsense piece of legislation, and it actually puts the talk that we’ve been having over the last four years into action. Jake, there’s been no more litigated issue over the last four years than President Biden and Vice President Harris’s open border policies. It is my belief that the American people entered a verdict on that on November 5th, saying we are ready for secure borders. We want our streets and our communities to be safe and secure. This is the first step in doing this.”
She added, “This is a targeted piece of legislation that goes directly to the heart of the tragedy that occurred with Laken Riley. As you well know, Friday would have been her 23rd birthday. She should still be with us if this piece of legislation had been enacted, she would. So Americans are ready for common sense solutions, and they’re ready for us to stop talking and actually yield results. I’m encouraged by the number of Democrats that have come on board, and those who have voiced their support for this piece of legislation. I think as we continue to debate this and talk about the merits of it this week, it will garner more support. And as you know, Jake, it passed the House not once, but twice last year in the last Congress, it passed with 37 Democrats supporting. This year it had 48 Democrats supporting it. So it’s a bipartisan piece of legislation that is 60% of the House. I expect it to get 60% or more in the Senate.”
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