Trump signs Laken Riley Act, expanding federal immigration enforcement : NPR

President Trump signs the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 29.

Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

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Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law on Wednesday, expanding the scope of those who can be arrested, detained and deported by federal immigration officers.

The bill is the first of Trump’s second presidency to become law and it comes at a time when he is promising stricter enforcement of immigration laws and increased deterrents to legal migration. It passed with bipartisan support, marking a major shift for Democrats, who did not advance the legislation in the Senate last year.

Trump nodded to that bipartisan support in his afternoon remarks, thanking Democrats for helping to get the measure through.

“It’s a landmark law that we are doing today, it will save countless innocent American lives,” Trump said.

In one of her first official appearances, Secretary for Homeland Security Kristi Noem attended the bill signing, as did several Republican senators who championed the measure. Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman, who was the first Democrat to cosponsor the bill in the Senate, joined as well.

The law may expand who can be deported but implementation is a challenge

The measure directs federal immigration enforcement to detain and deport those without legal status charged with minor theft or shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer or crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury of another person.

Several criminal offenses could already be grounds for deportation — and indeed Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Tuesday that those who had broken the law by entering the country illegally had already committed a crime. Critics of the measure argue the act skips the current practice of waiting until someone is convicted before considering the removal process.

The bill is named for a Georgia nursing student who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man in the U.S. without legal status. Her death became a rallying cry for Republicans who criticized the Biden administration’s approach to border security. The man, José Ibarra, was later sentenced to life in prison without parole. He had previously been charged with shoplifting in New York; Republicans argue this law would have enabled his deportation earlier and would have prevented Riley’s murder.

Riley’s parents and sister were at the White House for the signing. Riley’s mother Allyson Phillips spoke briefly, thanking lawmakers and the president for pushing the bill in her daughter’s name over the finish line.

President Trump looks on as Allyson Phillips, mother of Laken Riley, speaks before Trump signed the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 29.

Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

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Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

Supporters of immigration point to research that shows immigrants commit fewer crimes than those born in the U.S.

Implementing the law may be a challenge for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one of the agencies responsible for deportations. ICE is also now responsible for newly implemented arrest quotas.

Earlier this month, ICE sent a memo to lawmakers warning that implementation of the bill was “impossible to execute with existing resources.” In the first year, the agency said, it would cost $26 billion to implement across personnel costs, increase of detention resources, transportation and more.

The agency also warned in a December memo that it would need additional ICE officers and predicted facing barriers with local jurisdictions such as state and local enforcement that might not cooperate. It also made clear that there might be a shortage of detention space to house offenders.