Less Than 25 Percent of Dems Vote for Laken Riley Act, Side with Rapists and Murderers Instead
Despite massive Democratic opposition, the House passed the Laken Riley Act on Tuesday.
Riley, 22, was killed last year on the Athens, Georgia, campus of the University of Georgia.
Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who had a child endangerment charge against him in New York state and a shoplifting charge against him in Georgia prior to Laken’s death, has been charged with killing Riley.
NEW: John Fetterman says if Democrats can’t get 7 votes in the Senate to pass the Laken Riley Act, then “that’s the reason why we lost.”
“If you’re here illegally and you’re committing crimes, I don’t know why anybody thinks that it’s controversial, that they all need to go.” pic.twitter.com/e0tDEK72uO
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) January 8, 2025
The vote Tuesday was 264-159 in favor of the act, according to the House clerk’s website.
The bill attracted 216 Republican votes, with three members not voting.
On the Democratic side, 48 members of the House voted for the bill, 159 voted against it, and eight did not vote. That means only 22 percent of House Democrats backed the bill.
The bill had been introduced in the previous Congress. It passed 251-170. The clerk of the House recorded 214 Republicans and 37 Democrats supporting the bill, while all 170 opponents were Democrats. The bill did not pass the Senate, which was under Democratic control in 2024. Republicans now have the majority.
Today, I voted for the Laken Riley Act to prevent the horrific and brutal murder of additional innocent Americans at the hands of illegal alien thugs.
My heart still breaks for Laken, her family, and everyone touched by her life.
I’m proud this was the very first bill we passed… pic.twitter.com/QMYiZJpFlt
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) January 7, 2025
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said he would co-sponsor the bill, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail. Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan later said he would also support the bill in the Senate, where 60 votes are required to pass, meaning it needs Democratic support.
“If we can’t pull up with seven votes … that’s the reason why we lost,” Fetterman said, referencing the 2024 election, in a video posted to X.
Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said Senate Democrats will be under pressure to support the bill, according to NBC.
The radical Left is going to vote against the Laken Riley Act, with a Squad member comparing Laken’s brutal murder to kids shoplifting chips. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/jlUi552ZNw
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) January 7, 2025
“People are going to have to make a decision. It’s now a bipartisan bill; Fetterman has now signed on,” Barrasso said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized opposition to the bill, the Mail noted.
“Laken Riley was brutally murdered by an illegal alien that President Biden and the Democrats let into this country with their open border policy,” he said in a statement.
And wouldn’t you know the man who wears a dress & calls himself a woman was a NAY vote on the Laken Riley Act.
As were 158 more anti-American Democrats. They should all be shamed.
You know who would’ve benefited from “a touch of grace”, @SarahEMcBride? Laken Riley. pic.twitter.com/vJAfWA2MaC
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) January 7, 2025
“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,” he said.
Johnson said, opposition shows that “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.”
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