The federal Laken Riley Act was President Donald Trump’s first law of his second term. It expands the scope of crimes that could place a person living in the U.S. without legal status in immigration detention and in deportation proceedings.
Last year, state politicians in Georgia also drafted legislation in Riley’s name after the nursing student was murdered on the University of Georgia campus by a Venezuelan migrant who crossed into the U.S. illegally. He had once been caught shoplifting, but was let go.
“In Georgia, the people of this state, the people we represent, are expecting us to do something,” said Republican State Rep. Jesse Petrea in front of legislators last year. “I think this is a good way to do just that.”
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