While signing Laken Riley Act, Trump says he'll send 'worst criminal aliens' to Guantanamo

President Donald Trump holds the document after signing the Laken Riley Act during an event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Illustrations by Mariá Toro, excerpted from You Gotta Eat by Margaret Eby (Quirk Books, 2024) / Illustrations by Mariá Toro, excerpted from You Gotta Eat by Margaret Eby (Quirk Books, 2024)

This story was updated on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, at 7:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the Laken Riley Act into law, giving federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes. He also announced at the ceremony that his administration planned to send the “worst criminal aliens” to a detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The bipartisan act, the first piece of legislation approved during Trump’s second term, was named for Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was slain last year by a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally.