The House approved its first legislation of the new Congress Tuesday and passed The Laken Riley Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to take custody of illegal aliens who have been charged with theft and other crimes. 

The act is named for Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who was brutally murdered last year by Venezuelan illegal alien Jose Ibarra. The measure will now head to the Senate.

Here's that moment:https://t.co/o0dJVOy4CT

— The Recount (@therecount) January 7, 2025

Related: Fetterman Just Threw a Wrench Into Dem Plans to Block Laken Riley Act From Making Its Way to Trump's Desk

Laken Riley's Heartbroken Dad Speaks Out, Killer 'Might Not Have Been Here Had We Had Secure Borders'

RedState’s Teri Christoph reported earlier Tuesday on what the act would do:

The bill aims to provide Americans a small amount of protection by detaining illegals who commit non-violent crimes.

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.

Under this bill, DHS must detain an individual who (1) is unlawfully present in the United States or did not possess the necessary documents when applying for admission; and (2) has been charged with, arrested for, convicted for, or admits to having committed acts that constitute the essential elements of burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.

Had this bill, which is just a drop in the bucket of the illegal immigration reform needed in the U.S., been in effect this time last year, Laken Riley would still be alive. The man convicted of her murder had previously been arrested for child endangerment and shoplifting, and thus would have been in custody and not free to prey on young women like Laken Riley.

BREAKING.🚨

The 119th Congress has passed its first bill: The Laken Riley Act.

"[T]he Laken Riley Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins, holds the Biden Administration accountable for their role in these tragedies through their open border policies, requires detention of illegal… pic.twitter.com/lyN55ofgGa

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) January 7, 2025

"[T]he Laken Riley Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins, holds the Biden Administration accountable for their role in these tragedies through their open border policies, requires detention of illegal aliens who commit theft and mandates ICE take them into custody, and allows a state to sue the Federal government on behalf of their citizens for not enforcing the border laws, particularly in the case of parole." 

264 Republicans and Democrats voted for the bill. 

159 Democrats voted against the bill.

The act had passed before, only to die in the Senate at the hands of Democrats.

The House approved the legislation in March, with 37 House Democrats joining Republicans in support of its passage. But the bill stalled in the then-Democratic-controlled Senate.

[House Speaker Mike] Johnson encouraged more Democrats to join Republicans this time around, saying the vote would be "telling."

"We're going to detain and deport illegal aliens who commit burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, certainly vicious and violent crimes, and I can't believe anybody would be opposed to that," Johnson said.

It's shameful that so many Democrats voted against the measure, especially after voters said in no uncertain terms in the November elections that illegal immigration and crime were two huge concerns for them. Now that the GOP has a slim majority, let's hope they do the right thing and turn this into law.