The president noted that Ms Riley’s murder was a “horrific atrocity” that “should never have been allowed to happen.”
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the first law of his second presidency, the Laken Riley Act — named after a nursing student who was brutally murdered by an illegal Venezuelan immigrant in 2024.
The Laken Riley Act united both Republicans and Democrats — 48 of whom backed the bill to become law on January 28.
The Act empowers Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to deport illegal immigrants with criminal histories, including minor theft-related offences.
Undocumented immigrants who have ever assaulted the police will also be expelled from the U.S. per the Laken Riley Act. Any illegal immigrant who harms another person will also be detained and subsequently deported.
“With today’s action, her name will also live forever in the laws of our country,” Mr Trump said on Wednesday. “And this is a very important law. This is something that has brought Democrats and Republicans together. That’s not easy to do. Laken did it. Laken did it. America will never, ever forget Laken Hope Riley.”
The president noted that Ms Riley’s murder was a “horrific atrocity” that “should never have been allowed to happen.”
Mr Trump vowed to use “every single day” of his presidency “to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.”
For killing 22-year-old Ms Riley, José Ibarra was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. But he had an existing criminal record of shoplifting. GOP lawmakers argued that Ms Riley would not have died so cheaply had Mr Ibarra been expelled from the U.S. after his first offence.
Ms Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, present at the signing of the bill thanked the president and the legislators for immortalising her daughter.
“We also want to thank President Trump for the promises he made us,” Mrs Phillips said. “He said he would secure our borders and that he would never forget about Laken. And he hasn’t. He’s a man of his word.”
