In emotional remarks ahead of President Donald Trump signing the Laken Riley Act into law on Thursday, the mother of Laken Riley, who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant, praised Jesus Christ and asserted she will see her daughter again.
“Most importantly, I want to thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Philips, who was visible with tears, said at the signing ceremony at the White House. “Without His sacrifices, Laken’s story would have ended on that horrific day that she was taken from us. But because of Him, we can continue knowing that we will see Laken again.”
“Our hope moving forward is that her life saves lives,” she added.
The Laken Riley Act is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who was murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan who was in the United States illegally, in February 2024 while she was jogging at the University of Georgia.
“This horrific atrocity should never have been allowed to happen,” Trump told reporters ahead of signing the legislation. “And as president, I’m fighting every single day to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.”
In November, a judge sentenced Ibarra to life in prison without the possibility of parole after he was found guilty of murder.
“With today’s action, her name will also live forever in the laws of our country,” Trump said on Thursday. “And this is a very important law. This is something that has brought Democrats and Republicans together. That’s not easy to do. Laken did it. Laken did it. America will never, ever forget Laken Hope Riley.”
The Laken Riley Act is Trump’s first bill signed into law in his second administration, which would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants charged with theft-related crimes. Additionally, the statute permits states to bring legal action against the Department of Homeland Security for harm sustained by their citizens as a result of illegal immigration.
The law follows Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration ever since taking office last week, including signing an executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border and another one designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Trump also plans to sign an executive order instructing the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to develop a migrant facility in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for 30,000 detainees, Fox News reported.
“We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal, illegal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump said. “Some of them are so bad, we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back. So we’re going to send them out to Guantanamo.”
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff
Originally published January 30, 2025.
