Garbarino Proposal to Protect Police from Criminal Migrants Signed Into Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, the Laken Riley Act was signed into law, including language originally from the Protect Our Law enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act, first introduced by Congressman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-02) in 2021 and reintroduced at the start of the 119th Congress.

Rep. Garbarino was honored to attend the bill signing earlier today at the White House alongside President Trump, as well as advocates for and contributors to the legislation.

The Laken Riley Act was introduced in honor of a 22-year-old nursing student who was tragically murdered by an illegal immigrant on the University of Georgia campus last year. Her killer had a criminal history and had been arrested several times in the U.S., only to be released. The final text of the bill, passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Trump on January 29, 2025, includes a provision from Rep. Garbarino’s POLICE Act that explicitly makes assaulting a law enforcement officer a deportable offense.

“The idea that someone can come into this country illegally and continue to commit crimes without consequence is unacceptable,” said Rep. Garbarino. “I am proud to see my provision from the POLICE Act become law. This legislation is for our law enforcement officers on the front lines of the border crisis, for Laken Riley, for Sarah Root, and for the countless other Americans who have suffered at the hands of criminal migrants.”

Specifically, the Laken Riley Act will: 

• Require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers and take custody of illegal immigrants “effectively and expeditiously” when they commit certain crimes, including:
  • Theft, burglary, larceny, and shoplifting offenses
  • Assault on a law enforcement officer
  • Crimes resulting in serious bodily injury
• Mandate that ICE detain such illegal immigrants until they can be removed from the country.
• Authorize state governments to sue for injunctive relief over immigration enforcement decisions that harm the state or its residents.

The full text of the legislation can be found here. 

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