Washington The first bill of his second term, which President Donald Trump signed into law on Wednesday, would give state attorneys general broad legal authority to challenge federal immigration law and require immigration officials to detain immigrants who have been arrested or charged with property crimes, among other offenses.
Trump stated, “Today’s signings bring us one step closer to finally eliminating the scourge of migrant crime in our communities.”
Attorneys and immigration advocates have cautioned that by mandating the detention of immigrants accused of property crimes, the bill will support Trump’s pledge to implement mass deportations. Approximately 41,000 detention beds are funded by ICE.
Trump said at the ceremony that he will also sign an order on Wednesday to direct the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense to get ready for a 30,000-bed migrant detention facility in Guantanamo Bay.
According to Trump, Guantanamo has 30,000 beds to house the most dangerous illegal aliens who pose a threat to the American people. We’re going to send some of them to Guantanamo because they’re so bad that we don’t even trust the countries to hold them. We don’t want them to return. It’s difficult to leave the place.
The U.S. government detained nearly 30,000 Cubans who were escaping political unrest and economic hardship at Guantanamo Bay between 1994 and 1996. After the Sept. 11 attacks, former President George W. Bush used the location in 2002 to house terrorist suspects who could be held and questioned without any restrictions.
States Newsroom contacted DHS regarding a new Guantanamo Bay detention facility, but DHS did not reply. Instead of transferring individuals who are already in the nation to the naval base, the facility has traditionally been used to hold asylum seekers en route to the United States.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, informed reporters that the naval installation would be operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Homan stated, “We’re just going to build on the current migrant center.”
Trump signed the law in honor of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was killed by a man who, according to immigration officials, was in the country illegally and had previously been accused of theft.
With today’s action, we will eternally preserve Laken’s memory in everyone’s heart,” Trump stated. Her name will also endure forever in our nation’s laws, one of which is particularly significant.
Allyson Phillips, Riley’s mother, thanked Trump for the bill when she was there for the signing.
She asserted that no amount of reform could ever bring back our beloved Laken. Going ahead, we hope her life will save lives.
Riley’s death was attributed by Trump on the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
He was released into the United States together with millions of other individuals, many of whom were extremely dangerous, due to the harsh measures of the previous government. “You see what we’re doing, we’re getting (them) the hell out of here,” Trump stated.
Additionally, Senate Republicans extended the mandatory detention provisions, which were initially imposed for property crimes like burglaries and shoplifting, to encompass assaults of law enforcement officials and physical injury to others.
Sen. Katie Britt, a Republican from Alabama, was commended by Trump for guiding the bill through the upper house.
Additionally, he urged Congress to give his government the money it needs to conduct deportations.
Trump stated that Congress must fully fund the restoration of our sovereign borders and provide the funds necessary to expel a record number of illegal immigration.
According to NPR, ICE has calculated that the first year of the Laken Riley Act’s enforcement will cost $26.9 billion.ICE’s fiscal year 2024 budget is around $9 billion.
Despite worries from immigration lawyers and campaigners that the bill would violate immigrants’ due process rights and provide state attorneys general the power to challenge immigration judges’ bond decisions, the bill received bipartisan backing.
Furthermore, the law does not include a carve-out for undocumented children, which means that they may be held without being freed on bond.According to immigration lawyers, the bill would trap some immigrants with discretionary legal statuses like humanitarian parole and even recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as Dreamers, even though its goal is to target those who are in the country without the required authorization.
Last week, the Trump administration granted immigration officers the power to revoke humanitarian parole, a discretionary status granted to foreign nationals who entered the country during the previous two years. That would include the approximately 1.5 million immigrants who entered the country legally under the Biden administration.
This week, legal advocates stated that their Justice Department funding for helping immigrants navigate immigration court hearings was slashed, and they were prohibited from offering legal services in detention facilities.
A temporary protection extension for over 600,000 Venezuelans was also terminated by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday.
Trump gave Noem high marks for her initial efforts. Noem was in New York City earlier this week, going on raids with ICE.
Trump remarked of Noem, “I know it’s probably not complimentary, because she is a woman, but she is tough.”
