The Georgia State House recently passed a new bill allowing police to arrest anyone suspected of being in the United States illegally.
The state House voted 97-94 to approve House Bill 1105, which would permit police to arrest anyone with probable cause who is suspected of being in the country unlawfully. The suspect would be detained and ordered to deportation, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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The bill, which passed on Thursday (February 29) in the House and has moved to the Senate for consideration, would require local authorities in Georgia to report to federal authorities when someone in their custody has been found without legal documentation. The penalties for not reporting such offenses could result in local governments losing state funding or state-administered federal funding.
The new Georgia bill arrives after the killing of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in Athens, Georgia. Her body was found in a wooded area near the University of Georgia’s intramural fields hours after she went for a run. The suspect in her death was identified as Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan native whom police say crossed into the U.S. illegally in 2022 and had been living in Athens.
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The Associated Press reported that before Ibarra’s Athens arrest, he was previously detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but later released for further processing. At a later point, he was arrested in New York and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child. He was again released before ICE agents could request local authorities to take him into custody.
Following the death of Riley, protests have sparked around her community and beyond. Her death has even led to some Republicans calling out President Joe Biden and fellow Democrats in regards to the hot topic of immigration. Despite the bill passing, Democrats heavily pushed back on it.
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Meanwhile, Representative Jesse Petrea, who sponsored the legislation, claimed he worked on the bill for at least a year and that it took on new importance following the death of Laken Riley.
House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican from Newington, also praised the bill, stating, “While we continue to pray for Laken Riley and her family, the Georgia House took action today to strengthen public safety and security in our state, stand firmly against illegal immigration and for the rule of law — and I am proud of the passage of House Bill 1105.”
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