The Laken Riley Act, propelled by Iowa’s congressional delegation, became President Donald Trump’s first bill signed into law during his second presidency on Wednesday.
The law will expand the scope of who can be arrested, detained, and deported by federal immigration officers. The bill is the first of Trump’s second presidency to become law, immediately following his promises to enforce stricter immigration laws.
The Laken Riley Act directs federal immigration enforcement to detain and deport those without legal status charged with assault of a law enforcement officer, minor theft or shoplifting, or crimes resulting in the death or serious bodily injury of another person.
The act is in memory of Laken Riley, of Woodstock, Georgia, who was sexually assaulted and murdered by Jose Ibarra last year. Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in September 2022.
Passing with bipartisan support with 46 Democrats in the House and 12 Democrats in the Senate in support of the measure, the law marks a shift for Democrats, who did not advance the legislation in the Senate last year.
“It’s a landmark law that we are doing today, it will save countless innocent American lives,” Trump said, nodding to the bipartisan support in his remarks Wednesday afternoon.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa reintroduced the bill earlier this month, and U.S. Rep. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, added an amendment to the bill adding crimes that cause serious bodily injury or harm.
Ernst’s amendment added provisions from her bill dubbed Sarah’s Law, which she has staunchly advocated for since 2016.
Sarah’s Law is in memory of Iowan Sarah Root, of Council Bluffs, who was killed by a drunk driver in Omaha, Nebraska. Esqin Mejia, the drunk driver, illegally entered the U.S. in 2013, was released on bail, and fled.
“Today is the culmination of a nine-year battle for justice for Sarah Root,” Ernst said in a news release Wednesday. “Finally, after years of working on this bill and under the leadership of President Trump, our nation’s laws will no longer prioritize illegal immigrants over Americans.”
Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a news release Wednesday that Ernst “once again delivered for Iowans in a major way” by getting Sarah’s Law enacted.
“Unbelievably, because of a loophole in our justice system, [Mejia] was allowed to post bail and flee the country, avoiding legal judgment and denying a grieving family justice,” Kaufman said in the release. “Thanks to Joni Ernst and all of her work, violent illegal alien offenders will no longer have the freedom to commit acts of violence with impunity in the United States of America.”
Earlier this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent a memo to lawmakers stating that the implementation of the bill would be “impossible to execute with existing resources.”
The agency said the program would cost $26 billion to implement the law, in order to cover personnel costs, transportation, increase of detention resources, and other needed resources.