Arizona’s newly minted Democratic senator has announced he is backing the Laken Riley Act, a bill advocates say would eliminate due process for immigrants living in the country illegally.
As his first major announcement since taking office Friday, Sen. Ruben Gallego co-sponsored the bill named after Laken Riley, the Georgia nursing student who was slain by an immigrant from Venezuela who crossed the border illegally.
“Arizonans know the real-life consequences of today’s border crisis,” Gallego said in a statement.
“We must give law enforcement the means to take action when illegal immigrants break the law, to prevent situations like what occurred to Laken Riley. I will continue to fight for the safety of Arizonans by pushing for comprehensive immigration reform and increased border security.”
Gallego voted for the bill in the previous Congress, as a member of the House seeking the Senate seat he ultimately won.
“We understand and appreciate that leaders like Sen. Gallego are committed to border security, safety, and sensible immigration policy. Unfortunately, this bill does nothing to address those issues and instead gives state governments unprecedented authority to use the courts to overturn small and large decisions made by the federal government on immigration and foreign policy,” said Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council.