Trump signs Lake Riley Act, Expanding Federal Immigration Enforcement: NPR

President Trump signs Lake Riley Act in the eastern space of the White House on January 29.

Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

Hide caption

Change caption

Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump signed the Lake Riley Law on Wednesday and expanded the extent of those who can be arrested, detained and deported by federal immigration officers.

The bill is the first of Trump’s second presidency to be law, and it comes at a time when he promises stricter enforcement of immigration laws and increased deterrence to legal migration. It went with Bipartisan support and marked a major shift for Democrats who did not make the legislation in the Senate last year.

Trump nodded to Bipartisan support in his afternoon’s remarks and thanked the Democrats to help get the measure through.

“It’s a milestone law that we do today, it will save countless innocent American life,” Trump said.

In one of her first official appearances, secretary of the Homeland Security Christ’s Noem participated in the bill signed, as did several Republican senators who advanced the measure. Pennsylvania -Democrat John Fetterman, the first Democrat to also join the Senate Bill.

The law can extend who can be deported but implementation is a challenge

The measure leads federal immigration enforcement to detain and deport them without legal status charged with minor theft or retail lift, assault of a law enforcement officer or crimes resulting in death or serious bodily harm of another person.

More Criminal acts could already be reason For deportation – and actually Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman in the White House said Tuesday that those who had broken the law by entering the country illegally had already committed a crime. Critics of the measure claim that the law skips the current practice of waiting until someone is convicted before considering the removal process.

The bill is named after a nursing student in Georgia who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man in the United States without legal status. Her death became a rally -cries for Republicans who criticized Biden -Administration’s approach to border security. The man, José Ibarra, was later sentenced to life in prison without triallessness. He was previously indicted for store lift in New York; Republicans claim that this law would have enabled his deportation earlier and would have prevented Riley’s killing.

Riley’s parents and sister were in the White House for signing. Riley’s mother Allyson Phillips spoke briefly and thanked legislators and the president for pushing the bill in his daughter’s name over the finish line.

President Trump looks at when Allyson Phillips, mother of lake Riley, speaks before Trump signed the Lake Riley Act in the eastern space of the White House on January 29.

Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

Hide caption

Change caption

Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

Supporters of immigration point to Research that shows Immigrants commit fewer crimes than those born in the United States

Implementation of the law can be a challenge for immigration and customs enforcement, one of the agencies responsible for deportations. Ice cream is now also responsible for Recently implemented arrest quotas.

Earlier this month, ICE sent a note to legislators warning that the implementation of the bill was “impossible to execute with existing resources.” In the first year, the agency said, it would cost $ 26 billion to implement across staff costs, increase in detention resources, transport and more.

The Agency also warned in a December memo that it would need additional ice officers and predicted to have against barriers with local jurisdictions such as state and local enforcement that may not cooperate. It also made it clear that there may be a lack of detention room to house offenders.