Sen. J.D. Vance calls for crackdown on violent illegal aliens after nursing student Laken Riley’s murder
Sen. J.D. Vance is pushing legislation targeting violent illegal immigrants after a Venezuelan migrant was charged this week with the shocking murder of a Georgia nursing student.
“Given the brutal murder of Laken Riley at the hands of an illegal immigrant, it’s vital that the Senate pass Kate’s Law, as well as additional measures that make it easier to deport violent illegals and harder for them to come into our country and commit violent crimes,” Vance told The Post.
The Senate bill, co-sponsored by the Ohio Republican and introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), is named for Kate Steinle, a 32-year-old San Francisco woman who was shot and killed in 2015 by a Mexican national who had previously been deported five times.
The law imposes mandatory minimum prison sentences of five years on foreign nationals with aggravated felony convictions or more than one conviction who illegally re-enter the US after being deported.
Versions of the bill have been introduced in both chambers of Congress since Steinle’s death, but it only passed in the House under former President Donald Trump in 2017.
José Inez García Zárate, who fired the shot that killed Steinle, was acquitted of murder by a jury in San Francisco, a sanctuary city, and a California appeals court overturned a subsequent conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon.
More than 30 Senate Democrats blocked a procedural vote on a 2015 bill that included Kate’s Law and another provision to strip sanctuary cities of federal funding — which at the time was rejected by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) for costing US taxpayers money “by increasing the federal prison population.”
“Senator Brown knows that presidents of both parties have failed on the border — and he is fighting to ensure that law enforcement at every level have the tools and support they need to keep our country safe, secure the border, and stop people from illegally entering the country,” a spokesperson told The Post.
A spokesperson for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who also opposed the bill, told The Post that the lawmaker “does not support sanctuary cities and believes that allowing anyone to enter the country without being properly vetted or going through a legal process undermines our national security.”
Brown, Tester and Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) pointed to their recent votes for bipartisan legislation that failed in the Senate due to GOP opposition, saying that bill would have secured the southern border.
“Senator Casey believes that all perpetrators of violent crimes should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Democrat’s office said. Tester and Kaine added that they did not support the 2015 bill because it would “defund” local law enforcement departments.
Proponents say the Senate bill that included Kate’s Law would have also helped local law enforcement better coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security on detainer requests for non-US citizens arrested on criminal charges.
Sanctuary cities have imposed laws that prevent notifying federal immigration authorities about a person’s citizenship status or being notified when that person is released, making it challenging to file retainers.
The Venezuelan national charged Monday with murdering Laken Riley was eligible for deportation last year after being accused in Queens of felony child endangerment as well as shoplifting in Athens, Ga.
The NYPD released 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra from custody in September before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed a detainer request.
Ibarra also had a warrant out for his arrest as of Dec. 20, 2023, in Georgia for skipping his court appearance on shoplifting charges, according to pictures of the document posted online by state representative Houston Gaines.
Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, went out for a jog Thursday morning and was later found dead in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus around noon, according to police.
Ibarra allegedly kidnapped and killed her there, “seriously disfiguring her body … by disfiguring her skull” with an unidentified object, according to affidavits published by Fox News.
“It is a heinous crime and the perpetrator should be locked up for a long, long time,” Angelo Roefaro, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), told The Post without commenting on potential legislation.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, in the wake of Riley’s death, has suggested changes to sanctuary policies that would force illegal immigrants who commit felonies to be turned over to ICE for deportation.
Kenneth Genalo, the director of ICE’s New York field office, earlier this month blamed city and state sanctuary laws for hampering “cooperation” between police and federal authorities.
“We want to help,” Genalo said at a Feb. 5 press conference. “There’s hundreds of people a week that are being arrested throughout the city and we can’t determine which are the most violent.”
The crime spate has not been limited to sanctuary jurisdictions. Last May, a Mexican national who had already been deported four times gunned down five people, including a nine-year-old boy, in Texas.
Republican congressional candidates have also taken note of their Democratic opponents’ voting records and are hammering them on immigration issues before the general election.
“Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden’s open border and coddling of criminal illegals is what led to the terrible murder of Laken Riley,” said Bernie Moreno, a GOP Senate candidate running against Brown in the 2024 election.
“Not only do we need to pass commonsense legislation like Kate’s Law, which Sherrod opposed in the Senate, we also need to do everything possible to immediately deport illegal immigrants before they commit violent crimes in the first place.”
“We need new leaders who are actually willing to do what it takes to keep America safe and pass enduring legislation to stop migrant crime, seal the border for good, and end illegal immigration once and for all,” a spokesperson for Tim Sheehy, a Republican challenging Tester for his Montana seat, also told The Post.
Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick accused Casey of having “repeatedly voted against legislation that would crack down on sanctuary cities and lock up criminal illegal immigrants.”
“Pennsylvanians are fed up and ready for a Senator who will put their safety and the safety of their children first,” McCormick said.
“Senator Casey believes that we need concrete solutions to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system, not political games,” a rep for the incumbent responded.
“He’s fighting to pass his Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act to increase the number of border patrol officers, equip them with the resources they need to keep us safe, and to stop the flow of fentanyl coming over the Southern border.”
No other senators who voted against Kate’s Law in the Senate responded to a request for comment.
