US lawmakers pass bill to deport illegal immigrants charged with minor crimes

The United States parliament has passed a bill that will allow federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants charged with minor crimes.

With the bill, such illegal immigrants risk deportation.

The Laken Riley Act was christened after a 22-year-old nursing student, killed last year in Georgia by Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant, who crossed into the US illegally.

Ibarra had previously been arrested and charged with shoplifting but was not detained.

He was later sentenced in November last year to life in prison without parole for Riley’s murder.

“Every part of our system failed Laken that day,” Mike Collins, a Republican representative who sponsored the Act, said.

The bill passed on Tuesday, just days into the new session of Congress, setting the tone for President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious policy agenda, which targets reduced immigration.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to undertake mass deportation soon after he takes office on January 20.

The Laken Riley Act drew the support of 48 Democrats and all Republicans.

The bill cleared the house on a 252-157 vote.

An expanded list of crimes that the bill penalizes includes burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.

Democrat critics argued that the new category is too broad and could result in innocent people being thrown into detention.