John Fetterman Is First Senate Democrat To Step Up, Sponsor Laken Riley Act

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) became the first Senate Democrat to sponsor the Laken Riley Act, which passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

News broke of Fetterman’s plan to sponsor the bill just ahead of a vote for the measure took place in the House.

“BREAKING: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) sponsors the Laken Riley Act in the Senate. Fetterman is the first Senate Democrat to sponsor it. This bill will ensure detention and deportations of criminal aliens before they can commit heinous crimes like what happened to Laken Riley,” Eric Daugherty posted.

Fetterman issued a statement in support of the bill, which is named for the Georgia nursing student who was brutally murdered by an illegal migrant who had previously been arrested but not deported.

“Laken Riley’s story is a tragic reminder of what’s at stake when our systems fail to protect people. No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to preventable violence,” Fetterman’s statement read.

“Immigration is what makes our country great,” Fetterman continued. “I support giving authorities the tools to prevent tragedies like this one while we work on comprehensive solutions to our broken system.”

The Laken Riley Act, introduced in the Republican-led House by Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), passed the lower chamber on Tuesday. Forty-eight Democrats voted with 216 Republicans to pass the bill, which was opposed by 159 Democrats.

As previously reported, if signed into law, the Laken Riley Act would compel federal officials to arrest illegal immigrants charged with theft in the U.S. In addition, it opens the door for individual states to sue federal officials for “injunctive relief” if immigration actions or policies implemented by the federal government have an adverse impact on citizens in their state.

Rep. Collins thanked Fetterman for supporting the bill in a post on X, saying, “This bill sells itself, but I will be living in the Senate hallways until it passes if need be. Very grateful for @SenFettermanPA. Now we need Georgia’s Senators to step up.”

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