President Trump has signed his first piece of legislation since returning to the White House: the Laken Riley Act. This law grants U.S. federal authorities increased powers to detain and deport undocumented migrants suspected of crimes.
It is named after 22-year-old student Laken Riley, who was killed last year by José Antonio Ibarra, an undocumented Venezuelan in the U.S. Trump signed the act in the presence of Riley’s family. Critics warn that immigrants suspected of minor offenses, such as theft, may face prolonged detention or deportation without trial.
Trump also announced plans to use Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba to detain certain illegal migrants to prevent them from being deported and returning to the U.S. “Some are so dangerous that we don’t trust their countries to hold them. We don’t want them back, so we send them to Guantanamo,” Trump stated.
He instructed federal officials to prepare the facility to hold illegal migrants, mentioning the availability of 30,000 beds for dangerous foreign criminals threatening the American public. Guantanamo Bay, opened in 2002 under the Bush administration, has a controversial history of holding terrorism suspects without trial for years and having instances of torture.
Although there were plans to close it, and many detainees were transferred under Presidents Obama and Biden, 15 individuals remain imprisoned there.
Source: NOS