In a statement released earlier this week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton expressed his strong support for the Laken Riley Act, a piece of federal legislation that expands the list of crimes that would trigger the detention of illegal aliens.
The law, named after a Georgia nursing student who was tragically murdered by a man who had entered the country illegally from Venezuela, was signed by President Donald Trump over the weekend. The illegal alien convicted of her murder, Jose Antonio Ibarra, had previously been charged with shoplifting.
The new law requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain any illegal alien who admits to, is charged with, or convicted of burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault on a law enforcement officer, and any other crime that leads to death or serious bodily injury, such as drunk driving.
“The law also gives state attorneys general the power to enforce all of these mandatory detention requirements — as well as the limits on granting parole to aliens,” Paxton’s press release states.
Paxton, who has long been a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, looks at the legislation as a necessary response to what he describes as “devastating consequences” brought about by Biden’s immigration policies.
“Her murder should have never happened, and I stand with President Trump in his efforts to catch and detain every single violent, criminal illegal immigrant that Joe Biden invited into this country,” Paxton said in the press release.
“This law restores commonsense to our broken immigration system. Under President Trump, violent criminals and vicious gang members will no longer be released into American communities,” said Kristi Hoem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
As previously covered by DX, the Texas Attorney General’s office has seemingly been at the forefront of lawsuits against Biden’s immigration policies, and Paxton has reiterated his commitment to working with President Trump to reverse what he sees as a dangerous trajectory for the country.
“The Laken Riley Act will help us accomplish that mission and empower attorneys general like myself to play an even more active role in ensuring that our federal immigration laws are followed,” Paxton added. “I will continue to work with President Trump to reverse Joe Biden’s lawless open borders policies and ensure that illegal aliens who wish to harm our nation’s citizens are brought to justice.”