Less Than 25 Percent of Dems Vote for Laken Riley Act, Side with Rapists and Murderers Instead

Despite significant opposition from Democrats, the House approved the Laken Riley Act on Tuesday.

The act is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old who tragically lost her life last year on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia.

Jose Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, has been charged in Riley’s death. Prior to this, Ibarra faced a child endangerment charge in New York and a shoplifting charge in Georgia.

According to the House clerk’s website, the bill was passed with a vote of 264-159.

Support came from 216 Republican representatives, while three members of the party did not cast a vote. Among Democrats, 48 members supported the bill, 159 opposed it, and eight abstained, reflecting that only 22 percent of Democrats backed the measure.

This bill had been introduced in the previous Congress, where it passed with a vote of 251-170. At that time, support included 214 Republicans and 37 Democrats, while all opposition votes came from Democrats. The bill, however, failed to clear the Senate, which was controlled by Democrats in 2024. With Republicans now holding the majority, the bill's prospects have shifted.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has announced his intention to co-sponsor the legislation, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail. Michigan Senator Gary Peters, also a Democrat, later voiced his support. Since 60 votes are needed for the bill to pass in the Senate, gaining Democratic backing is crucial.

“If we can’t pull up with seven votes … that’s the reason why we lost,” Fetterman said in a video posted on X, referring to the 2024 election.

Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, speaking to NBC, noted that Senate Democrats will face pressure to support the act. “People are going to have to make a decision. It’s now a bipartisan bill; Fetterman has now signed on,” Barrasso stated.

House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized those opposing the legislation, as reported by the Daily Mail.

“Laken Riley was brutally murdered by an illegal alien that President Biden and the Democrats let into this country with their open border policy,” Johnson declared in a statement.

He further argued, “It is hard to believe after countless horrific stories like Laken’s, any House Democrats would vote against deporting illegal aliens who commit violent crimes against American citizens.”

Johnson added that opposition to the bill highlights how “some Democrats have ignored the loud and clear message from voters in this election who demanded secure borders, the deportation of violent illegal aliens, and laws that put the safety and security of the American people first.”