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President Donald Trump - Photo by AFP
WASHINGTON D.C. (WSAU) – On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, paving the way for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport illegal immigrants with criminal records back to their home countries while also announcing where many of the deportees will be housed during the process.
Named for the 22-year-old Georgia college student killed by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, the Laken Riley Act permits immigration officials to lawfully deport anyone accused or found guilty of a crime involving theft, assaulting a police officer, or causing death or serious bodily harm, such as drunk driving. Ibarra, a well-known member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, faced charges of theft, drunk driving, and failure to appear in court before killing Riley. Despite this, he was permitted to stay in the country.
“Laken was a brilliant and beautiful 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia. The best in her class… She was respected by everyone… From the time she was in first grade, Laken knew she wanted to spend her time caring for others. That’s what she did,” Trump said after signing the bill. “To her friends and classmates, she was a light of warmth and kindness in every single room. To her parents and family, she was everything in the world. They’ve had a miserable period of time.”
In the House, 217 Republicans and 46 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while 156 Democrats voted against it. The Senate passed the bill 64 to 35.
Meanwhile, the President answered a key question on many Americans’ minds about where the administration will house many of the migrants while they wait to be flown back home announcing that the migrants will be housed at a 30,000-person facility located at Guantanamo Bay saying, “Most people don’t know about it. We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people. Some of them are so bad, that 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 to Guantanamo. This will double our capacity immediately.”
Former US President Barack Obama issued directives in 2009 for the base to close by January 22, 2010. But Congress must approve closing the base, and that consent was never formally passed. Known terrorists and 9/11 architects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi, were held at the site, which still houses 15 detainees today.
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