NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — New federal legislation on immigration has been sent to the President’s desk after passage in the House Wednesday evening.
The Laken Riley Act, cosponsored by Senator Ted Budd, was named for a Georgia student who was murdered while out for a run in February 2024. As the bill is written, illegal immigrants accused of theft or burglary would be detained by federal authorities until they are deported.
“This is about preventing tragedies in the future and any Democrat that doesn’t support this, they certainly didn’t get the message that America sent loud and clear on November 5th,” said Budd.
Riley’s killer, Jose Ibarra, was in the country illegally and had been arrested multiple times for shoplifting but was able to stay in the country after each arrest.
“In the time I’ve spent going all 100 counties in North Carolina, I hear sheriffs repeatedly echo the same thing to me over and over and that is every single county in North Carolina is now a border county,” Budd added.
The federal legislation follows state bill HB 10, which requires North Carolina sheriffs to cooperate with ICE. The bill specifically honors requests to hold illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes for at least 48 hours.
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Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden has said he will follow the law.
“We’re always going to cooperate with ICE…before December 1, all 100 sheriffs were mandated by law to cooperate with ICE, HB 10 is the same thing,” said McFadden.
But McFadden expressed concerns about every county and agency having the resources to handle extended detentions, “This is also costing taxpayers money. It’s costing manpower here at my staff and you know everybody said that they’re short, which we are short, but we still are going to follow the law and do what we need to do.”
The Laken Riley Act is now in the hands of President Trump, who is expected to sign it.
