Senate GOP bills target sanctuary cities after Laken Riley’s death

FIRST ON FOX: North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis will introduce two bills Tuesday aimed at holding sanctuary cities accountable for what he calls lax policies toward illegal immigration and refusal to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The first bill, titled the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act, would create a private right for victims of rape or other felonies and their family members to sue states and districts if they refuse to honor detainer requests from the Department of Homeland Security. In order to qualify for federal grants, local governments and states would have to give up their immunity against this legal action. 

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The second measure, known as the Immigration Detainer Enforcement Act, would give the DHS secretary, rather than the attorney general, the authority to issue detainer requests for illegal immigrants. It would further remove language dictating that an illegal immigrant must be considered at risk of escaping before a warrant can be issued in order for a detainer to be sought. The bill would also allow DHS to compensate local and state jurisdictions for claims against them due to their enforcement of ICE detainers. 

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“For too long, we have watched local jurisdictions in North Carolina and across the country ignore the lawful notification and detainer requests made by ICE agents and instead release dangerous criminals back into their communities and put innocent lives at risk,” Tillis said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It is time for Congress to step in and put an end to this madness by holding sanctuary cities accountable and empowering ICE to gain custody of criminal illegal immigrants so they can’t cause more harm and violence.”

Both of the bills are being co-sponsored by Sens. Ted Budd, R-N.C., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark. 

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., are co-sponsors of the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act.

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“Sanctuary states and cities that refuse to enforce the law make Americans less safe,” Ricketts also told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Adding incentives for cooperation with ICE will get dangerous criminals off our streets. These two bills would bring needed accountability to those who facilitate illegal immigration and bring justice for the victims of sanctuary policies.”

Sen. Thom Tillis on Capitol Hill on May 25, 2022. (Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

The new legislation is being introduced in the wake of the death of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus. The suspect in her killing is a Venezuelan man who illegally immigrated to the U.S. in 2022. Jose Antonio Ibarra, 22, is being detained without bond on a variety of charges, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, kidnapping, and several others. 

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Jose Ibarra was arrested on Feb. 23 in connection with Laken Riley’s Feb. 22 murder in Athens, Georgia. (Clarke County Sheriff’s Office)

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Riley’s death last month captured national attention. President Biden even appeared to succumb to pressure from congressional Republicans, mentioning her in his State of the Union address on March 7. Many Republican members of Congress donned pins with Riley’s name on them to the event.