President Donald Trump is moving forward with his plans to crack down on immigration, and Black Atlantans could soon find themselves targeted by a related bill Trump signed into law on Wednesday.
The Laken Riley Act, which passed the House and Senate last week, requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain any undocumented immigrant who admits to or has been arrested, charged, or convicted of burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting; assault of a police officer; or “any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury.” The law also gives states the power to sue the federal government if an undocumented immigrant brings harm or commits a crime against a citizen.
The federal legislation is likely to have direct local impact, as metro Atlanta has the fourth-highest Black immigrant population in the country, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center report. Black Atlantans — immigrants included — are most likely to be stopped, searched and arrested by police, which can often result in detention and deportation.
The Laken Riley Act comes in the midst of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a law enforcement agency within DHS, conducting raids in metro Atlanta suburbs with high immigrant populations beginning this past weekend. It’s an additional cog in Trump’s plan to deport millions of migrants.
Capital B breaks down what you need to know about the Laken Riley Act and how it could affect Black people in Atlanta.
Who is Laken Riley?
Laken Riley was a 22-year-old student from Woodstock, Georgia, who was studying nursing at Augusta University’s Athens campus when she was murdered while on a morning run in February 2024.
Her killer, José Antonio Ibarra, is an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela who had previously been arrested in Texas and New York. Just five months before the murder, Ibarra was cited by law enforcement for stealing food and clothes from a Walmart in Athens.
Ibarra was found guilty of her murder in November and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Why is the Laken Riley Act controversial?
Proponents of the Laken Riley Act argue that it is written to protect Americans from potential harm while ensuring that undocumented immigrants who have been arrested for a crime are processed for deportation as quickly as possible. Immigration attorneys and immigrant rights groups are decrying the law as another tool to target undocumented migrants that won’t actually help make communities any safer.
They argue that the language of the law puts law-abiding undocumented residents at undue risk of deportation because anyone who is arrested, charged, or convicted of (or admits to) any forms of theft or violent crime must be detained by DHS, according to the legislation. ICE has also been known to wrongfully detain documented immigrants and U.S. citizens alike, which happened last week during a raid in Newark, New Jersey.
DHS has already warned Congress that the agency would be unable to enforce the law with the resources they are currently allotted and would likely have to release undocumented immigrants already in custody. (The department estimated a $26.9 billion cost to implement it in the first year.)
While supporters have championed this law as a step toward addressing crime by immigrants, there is no evidence that crime by immigrants is widespread. A 2024 American Immigration Council report revealed that while the U.S. immigrant population rose by 1.7 million people from 2017 to 2022, the national violent crime rate dropped by 3.6% (the overall crime rate saw a 15.3% decrease).
In the past, ICE and DHS were only required to detain and deport undocumented immigrants who are arrested on certain serious felonies, such as murder or espionage. The Laken Riley Act increases the number and type of offenses that mandate deportation.
How did my representatives vote?
Both of Georgia’s Democratic senators — Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock — voted yes last week.
The U.S. Senate passed the bill by a vote of 64-35, with 12 Democrats crossing the aisle.
Three of the four Democrats representing the Atlanta metro area in the U.S. House of Representatives voted against the bill: Nikema Williams, Hank Johnson, and David Scott. Lucy McBath, whose district has been redrawn twice by Republican legislators in the state house, voted in favor of the bill.
The House passed the bill last Wednesday by a vote of 263-156, with the support of 46 Democrats.
How will this affect policing in Atlanta?
The Laken Riley Act is only targeted at federal agencies like DHS. Neither Atlanta Police nor Georgia State Patrol are responsible for rounding up undocumented immigrants. But under Georgia law, local police have to play a role in reporting undocumented people.
If a person who is arrested or is a suspect in a criminal investigation cannot provide valid identification or a document confirming their immigration status, then the police must verify that person’s immigration status with the appropriate federal agency. Georgia, like most Southern states, does not allow undocumented people to apply for a driver’s license.
Though the onus is not on the arresting agency (likely a local police or sheriff’s department) to detain the undocumented person until ICE can collect them, the Laken Riley Act would greatly increase the number of people who must be detained by ICE.
