Nevada’s Democratic House delegation backed federal legislation that allows undocumented immigrants to be detained for nonviolent offenses like shoplifting, and at least one of Nevada Democratic senators says she’ll vote for the bill when it is heard in that chamber.
Immigration attorneys and coalitions warn the measure would “deny due process” for people accused of a crime without conviction.
Democratic U.S. Reps. Dina Titus, Steven Horsford and Susie Lee joined Republican Mark Amodei to support H.R. 29, the Laken Riley Act. The legislation passed 264-159 with 48 Democrats joining Republicans.
The legislation would allow undocumented immigrants arrested or charged with crimes like shoplifting, theft and larceny to be detained.
In a statement to Nevada Current, Titus called the bill “common sense anti-crime legislation” but called on Congressional Republicans to do more on immigration including a pathway to citizenship.
The legislation that passed the House Tuesday was named for Riley, a 22-year-old student who was murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela who is undocumented.
An early version of the legislation passed the House in 2024 but didn’t advance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. It is expected to be taken up as soon as Friday in the Senate, where Republicans now control 53 seats.
Several Senate Democrats, including Nevada’s Jacky Rosen, have already expressed support.
Rosen’s office said that she “believes if someone commits a crime, they should be held accountable” and that “she will vote in favor of this bill and would support amendments to improve the bill and address any concerns as it goes through the process.”
When asked if she would support the bill, U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s office said she was “currently reviewing the legislation.”
Lee said in a statement that Riley “may very well still be alive today had this bill been in law.”
“The bottom line is that if an undocumented immigrant breaks the law, they should be deported,” she said.
The New York Times reported in March 2024 that “according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the New York Police Department arrested Mr. Ibarra in August 2023 and then released him.”
The Times noted that New York law enforcement said Ibarra “had been driving a scooter without a license, and with a child who was not wearing a helmet” at the time of the arrest.
He was later arrested “in connection with a shoplifting case” two months later in Georgia but was released after his name was put through state and national databases and law enforcement couldn’t find any outstanding warrants, according to the Times.
Ibarra murdered Riley in February of 2024 and was convicted in November.
Horsford called the murder “a heartbreaking and senseless tragedy” in a statement to the Current.
“Removing predators from our communities is about keeping our loved ones safe, plain and simple,” he said. “My focus is on protecting Nevadans from ever experiencing what Ms. Riley’s family has endured.”
The legislation also allows state attorneys general to bring civil lawsuits against the federal government for violating a detention or removal proceeding “that harms such State or its residents.”
Laken Riley Act Bill summary
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.
Under this bill, must detain an individual who (1) is unlawfully present in the United States or did not possess the necessary documents when applying for admission; and (2) has been charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admits to having committed acts that constitute the essential elements of burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.
The bill also authorizes state governments to sue for injunctive relief over certain immigration-related decisions or alleged failures by the federal government if the decision or failure caused the state or its residents harm, including financial harm of more than $100. Specifically, the state government may sue the federal government over a
• decision to release a non-U.S. national from custody;
• failure to fulfill requirements relating to inspecting individuals seeking admission into the United States, including requirements related to asylum interviews;
• failure to fulfill a requirement to stop issuing visas to nationals of a country that unreasonably denies or delays acceptance of nationals of that country;
• violation of limitations on immigration parole, such as the requirement that parole be granted only on a case-by-case basis; or
• failure to detain an individual who has been ordered removed from the United States