Rep. Issa says Biden, Democrat-led Senate will try to ignore House-passed Laken Riley Act

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., predicted that President Biden and the Democratic-led Senate will try to ignore the Laken Riley Act, even though it passed the GOP-led House in a bipartisan vote on Thursday.

The legislation would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and take custody of illegal immigrants who commit crimes such as theft, burglary and larceny. 

The bill passed 251-170 with 37 Democrats voting in favor of it.

The bill is named after Riley, a student at the University of Georgia, who was killed allegedly by an illegal immigrant released under the Biden administration and transferred to New York. He was later arrested and released by local police in the state.

"The president has made a big step. He went from saying the border was sealed, to saying it isn't. And now we want him to go from saying that it's his predecessors' fault that it was never sealed, to realizing that it's his fault, and that her death and many other tragic deaths are the result of his open border, and that he's willing to work with us to actually seal it," Issa told Just the News on Capitol Hill ahead of Biden's State of the Union address on Thursday.

"Congress stands ready to help him on any authority he doesn't have. But as you know, based on the previous administration, he has authorities he's deliberately not using," he added.

Issa said Republicans want to see stronger border enforcement and a "return to interior enforcement."

"So when you catch someone who committed a crime, perhaps less than murder, you hold them and deport them, rather than giving them an opportunity to escalate as he did," he said, referring to the suspect in Riley's death.

Issa was asked what he thinks should the next step for the House if the Senate does not vote on the bill.

"The Senate protects itself by not holding votes. They simply won't get to cloture. If they don't get to cloture, they can say, 'well, we didn't vote against it. We just didn't get to cloture.' And that's what we expect to have happen is the Democratic controlled Senate will simply not allow a vote," he said.

"If it went to a vote, I believe that people even in sanctuary cities and sanctuary states would recognize it's time for a change," he added.

Just the News also asked Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the House majority whip, if he thinks Biden will mention Riley during the State of the Union address.

"He didn't last week, so I can't -- you know, he talked about the problem on our southern border, I believe, during his visit down to Brownsville and never once brought up the tragedy of Laken Riley. So we're going to talk about it. I don't know that he is," Emmer said.