Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) pressed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to pass the Laken Riley Act and other bills to secure the border and to protect law enforcement, Breitbart News can exclusively reveal.
Braun wrote to Schumer, in a letter obtained by Breitbart News, as the House overwhelmingly passed the Laken Riley Act, which he contended was introduced as a “regrettable necessity to compel President Biden’s administration to enforce the law.”
The murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley at the hands of an illegal alien has become a focal point of the migrant crisis unfolding under President Joe Biden.
The suspect, 26-year-old illegal alien Jose Antonio Ibarra from Venezuela, was charged with murdering and kidnapping Riley when she was out jogging around the University of Georgia campus in Athens.
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Ibarra reportedly crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2022 and was relased into the U.S. interior. He had been arrested for shoplifting in October 2023 but was not turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
After he failed to appear in court, authorities issued a bench warrant for his arrest. Before traveling to the Peach State, Ibarra had been protected by New York’s sanctuary state policy.
The White House has so far refused to support the Laken Riley Act, who said that they should “get on board” with the Senate border bill, which Breitbart News has reported on how the bill may not do enough to curb the border crisis.
Braun wrote:
The tragedies inflicted on Laken Riley and other Americans are an avoidable result of President Biden’s open-borders anarchy that enables violent illegal entrants to roam free with impunity, even after the illegal entrants of particular concern have been caught committing crimes ni the United States. Article I, Section 3 states the president “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” President Biden and his administration have failed to enforce federal immigration law to such a degree that the House of Representatives voted to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and for the breach of public trust. It is clear that the Congress has been forced to pursue stronger legislation to compel the administration to act.
Therefore, Braun urged Schumer to pass the Laken Riley Act, the House-passed Secure the Border Act, and the Thin Blue Line Act.
“These bills would institute the necessary reforms to our immigration and judicial system by rejecting the administration’s anarchic catch- and-release regime and bringing accountability to federal officials who have abdicated their oaths to uphold the law,” the Hoosier senator explained.
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The Laken Riley Act would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers and take custody of illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes. Thirty-seven House Democrats helped pass the legislation.
Braun’s Thin Blue Line Act, according to a press release from his office, would:
- When a jury in a federal case considers whether to impose the death penalty, the jury must consider certain “aggravating” factors.
- Current law states that if the murder victim is a federal law enforcement officer or federal prosecutor, this fact shall weigh as an aggravating factor in favor of the maximum penalty.
- The Thin Blue Line Act provides the same level of justice to local law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and first responders.
- It also enhances the penalty when a defendant targets a law enforcement officer, prosecutor, or first responder solely because that individual has chosen to protect and serve.
The Secure the Border Act would:
- Require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restart construction of the border wall
- Tighten asylum standards
- Narrow DHS’s power to grant parole to illegal aliens
“The American people are dissatisfied with Washington’s dysfunction and its failure to protect citizens from harm; it is a failure of one of the most basic purposes government,” Braun concluded in his letter to Schumer. “I ask that you prioritize these urgent measures that require the Senate’s immediate attention for the sake the American people.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.