Georgia Passes Bill to Allow Arrest of Suspected Illegal Immigrants After Laken Riley Murder

Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley was murdered on Feb. 22.

Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Ga., on Aug. 25, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Georgia state House has passed a bill that would allow police officers to arrest anyone suspected of being in the United States illegally, following the murder of university nursing student Laken Riley on Feb. 22.

The state House on Feb. 29 voted 97-74 in favor of the bill, HB 1105, allowing law enforcement officers to arrest people who violate federal immigration laws and have them deported.

The bill requires sheriffs to report the detention of illegal immigrants to federal authorities. Failure to do so may result in local governments losing state funding or state-administered federal funding.

The bill would also establish new requirements for how jailers must consult with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to determine whether individuals are known to be in the country illegally.

Republican state Rep. Jesse Petrea of Savannah said that clause is needed to enforce existing state law requiring sheriffs to check with ICE on people who don’t appear to be American citizens.

Under the bill, jail officials who fail to cooperate with federal immigration agents by not detaining suspected illegal immigrants, when enforcement officials provide a warrant, would be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Legislation in Response to Murder Case

The bill’s passage came after the murder of Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley, who disappeared after her morning jog around a wooded area at the university on Feb. 22.

Her body was discovered along her usual route later that day after a friend reported her missing when she failed to return to campus.

The suspect in her murder is Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old man from Venezuela who entered the country just 18 months ago. It is unclear whether or not he has applied for asylum.

Mr. Ibarra was first arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Sept. 8, 2022, after he crossed into the United States near El Paso, Texas, according to ICE officials.

He was paroled and released for further processing. Mr. Ibara was arrested by New York police roughly a year later and charged with “acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17” and a motor vehicle license violation, ICE said.

“Fixing policy in the face of unspeakable tragedy is not politics,” Rep. Houston Gaines, an Athens Republican, said on Feb. 29. “It’s doing the right thing to ensure something like this never occurs again.”

The bill would bring Georgia more in line with states that have aggressive immigration laws, such as Texas. Starting in March, Texas will allow police to arrest illegal immigrants and will give local judges the authority to order their deportation.

Georgia passed a law in 2011 designed to crack down on illegal immigration, although it later backed away from parts of it.

Katabella Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.