The Laken Riley Act: A Dangerous Bill That Grants Mass Deportation Authority to State Attorney Generals

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 29, the Laken Riley Act, advancing the first immigration bill of this Congress to the Senate for a vote later this week. Far from addressing public safety, this bill would create a pipeline to mandatory detention, targeting long-settled immigrants. If enacted, the bill would lay the groundwork for President-elect Trump’s cruel immigration agenda.

In response, Kerri Talbot, Co-Executive Director of the Immigration Hub, released the following statement:

“The House’s passage of the Laken Riley Act is a devastating blow to immigrant families and to the fundamental principles of fairness and justice in our democracy. This bill threatens the foundations of federal leadership on immigration policy by handing immense power to anti-immigrant state attorneys general like Kris Kobach and Ken Paxton, who have spent decades waging war on immigrants and the American families who stand by them.

The bill contains unconstitutional provisions that turn the states into immigration authorities. Local judges would suddenly be able to dictate issues like whether nationals of a certain state are able to get visas. It would create complete mayhem as federal and state immigration authorities take cases to the already overwhelmed federal courts. 

This bill does not protect public safety. It codifies cruelty and chaos, destabilizing families and communities while undermining federal authority on immigration policy. Allowing extremist state officials to dictate immigration enforcement would shred the rule of law and erode trust in our government’s ability to lead.

Those who voted for this bill must reexamine their conscience, as the fight against Trump’s cruel agenda is only beginning. To senators who have yet to cast their vote: now is the time to muster the strength of your morals and fulfill your duty as leaders. S.5 is not a solution—it is a path to fear, injustice, and devastation. Reject this bill and stand against an agenda that would destroy families, communities, and the principles upon which this nation was built.”

What the Laken Riley Act Does:

• Puts Long-Settled Immigrants, including DACA recipients and TPS holders, at  High Risk of Mandatory Detention. S.5 would put noncitizens who are integral to American families and communities at risk of detention and deportation with the roll back of basic due process protections that ensure those who commit crimes face immigration consequences and those who are wrongfully arrested or charged do not lose status. 
  • The first Trump Administration prioritized deporting individuals with no criminal record: In the first year of the Trump administration, federal arrests of undocumented immigrants with no criminal record more than tripled, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data from his first 14 months in office.

• Empower Attorneys General to Target Immigrants and Mandate Mass Detention Via Frivolous Lawsuits. The bill would allow attorneys general who are hostile to immigrants the power to sue in federal district court to overrule individual and policy decisions made by the executive branch regarding immigration detention. This provision could, among other things, result in the senseless incarceration of innumerable noncitizens without any balancing of the foreign policy, humanitarian, or budgetary consequences. This is a backdoor to mass detention.
• Creates a Pipeline to Indefinite Detention for Petty Offenses.  S.5 will make any immigrant who is arrested for a petty offense subject to indefinite detention. This new standard–indefinite detention without a criminal conviction–will lead to many being detained and deported for petty offenses, including those that are often dismissed. In communities where racial profiling is already documented and highly problematic, S.5 would become a weapon for targeting immigrants, making entire communities afraid to report crimes or cooperate with law enforcement.

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.