January 20, 2025

Duckworth Statement on the Laken Riley Act

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement after voting against the Laken Riley Act, which passed the Senate by a vote of 64-35:

“The murder of Laken Riley was an unspeakable act of violence—no parent should have to endure the loss of a child, and her murderer should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Over the last few weeks, Congress had an opportunity to craft bipartisan, long-overdue reforms that would help keep our communities safe. Unfortunately, Republicans once again proved they care more about scoring political points than working across the aisle to deliver an effective and just bill to help fix our broken immigration system.

“The Laken Riley Act is extreme legislation that authorizes the largest expansion of mandatory detention seen in decades for anyone even suspected or accused of shoplifting. Not only is this incredibly cruel and inhumane, it is also contrary to our legal system’s bedrock principle that all individuals are innocent until proven guilty, and thereby wholly un-American. While I don’t believe anyone should go without consequences when they commit crimes, I cannot support expensive and unfunded legislation that would force our already under-resourced deportation officers to prioritize indefinitely detaining people accused of petty shoplifting instead of going after suspected terrorists and violent offenders that pose a more urgent threat to the safety of our communities. Additionally, this legislation gives states sweeping power to bring expensive and time-consuming lawsuits against the federal government if they disagree with how the President enforces immigration law, ignoring our Constitution and legal precedent in order to allow any single state to dictate our nation’s immigration and foreign policy. For these reasons and more, I voted against the Laken Riley Act today.

“If my Republican colleagues decide they want to work with Democrats on fair, practical and humane legislation to strengthen our immigration system, I will be ready to join them at the table.”

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