WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Independent Women applauds members of Congress for passing the Laken Riley Act, also known as H.R. 29, as a step in the right direction to prioritize the safety of and protect American citizens. The Senate passed the legislation in a 64 to 35 vote on Monday and the House passed the legislation in a 264-159 vote on January 7.
Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was out for a run when she was brutally killed by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela with a well-documented criminal history. Ibarra was found guilty in December and received a life sentence in November. Read Independent Women’s statement on the guilty verdict HERE.
Meaghan Mobbs, director of Independent Women’s Center for American Safety and Security, said: “The Senate’s passage of the Laken Riley Act is a powerful statement: Protecting American lives is a priority again. Laken Riley’s heartbreaking death stands as a glaring indictment of the previous administration’s failure to secure the border and enforce immigration laws. In Laken’s honor, this bill takes decisive action to close dangerous loopholes, hold violent offenders accountable, and put the safety of American families above politics. We commend Senator Katie Britt’s leadership in making this legislation her first act in the 119th Congress. Her efforts demonstrate the courage and conviction we need to address these failures head-on. Our nation will no longer stand idly by while innocent lives are lost.”
Independent Women sent a letter to members of Congress on January 7 expressing support for the legislation.
The letter said, in part:
“H.R. 29 proposes critical reforms that would enhance the safety of our communities by prioritizing the enforcement of existing immigration laws, closing loopholes, and ensuring that individuals who pose a threat to American citizens are prevented from entering or remaining in the United States.”
Read the full letter HERE.
After being sworn into office on Monday, President Donald Trump signed numerous executive orders on immigration and border security. To coincide with the president’s bold, decisive actions to protect Americans, Independent Women Features, the grassroots storytelling and original journalism arm of Independent Women, released a trailer for its immigration-focused documentary series, “Collateral Damage: America’s Broken Immigration System.”
Watch the trailer HERE:
Collateral Damage: America’s Broken Immigration System
Learn more about Independent Women’s border security work below:
- Last year, Mobbs visited the southern border, where she spoke with border patrol agents and locals at the epicenter of the migrant crisis and witnessed the devastating impacts of an insecure border firsthand.
- CASS has developed a comprehensive policy focus to help lawmakers address the border crisis.
- IW Features exposed the dangerous fallout of the unprecedented border crisis in an exclusive documentary, “Brooklyn’s Border Crisis: Male Migrant Shelter Opens Steps From a Children’s School,” as told by Irina Edelstein, the Brooklyn chapter leader of IW’s national grassroots membership arm, Independent Women’s Network. Edelstein, an immigrant herself, joined Dr. Phil Primetime to break her silence on how the illegal migrant influx threatens the safety of communities nationwide.
- Independent Women’s Forum’s c4 sister organization, Independent Women’s Voice, launched the Safe Borders Petition in 2021 for the public to sign and the Safe Borders Commitment for elected officials to show their commitment to “supporting legislation that applies all travel requirements to everyone equally and fairly, including those entering at our southern border.”