Assembly Republican Leader Will Barclay (R,C-Pulaski), Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R,C-Sayville) and Deputy Senate Republican Leader Andrew Lanza announced today that they are renaming S.8533/A.9167 “Laken’s Law.”
In the wake of the tragic death of Laken Riley, members of the Senate and Assembly Republican Conferences are blasting Gov. Hochul and New York Democrats for protecting dangerous sanctuary policies. The individual charged with killing Laken Riley, illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, had an alarming criminal history, yet sanctuary laws on the books in New York allowed him to walk free after being arrested for reckless endangerment of a child. He then traveled to Georgia and has been charged with killing Laken Riley in broad daylight as she was out for a jog.
“Laken Riley is a victim of the sanctuary state and sanctuary city policies that my colleagues and I have been calling to end. It is un-American and dangerous for us to continue to allow illegal immigrants to run rampant across this country and in New York. It is time for it to end. We need to pass this legislation and restore sanity back to New York,” said Slater.
“The senseless murder of Laken Riley is a tragic and horrific incident that could, and should, have been prevented. Now, her family and friends are in the heartbreaking process of grieving their loved one because of Joe Biden’s broken border policies and New York’s soft-on-crime agenda. Nearly 200,000 illegal immigrants have come to New York. Why are we still refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities? Democrats are fighting harder to protect the state’s sanctuary status than to protect the well-being of New Yorkers. We need to restore the basic protocols of collaboration that were in place for decades. The continued refusal to pass ‘Laken’s Law’ is dangerous and deadly,” said Leader Barclay.
The Assembly and Senate Republican Conferences have repeatedly called on the governor and Legislature to take action to address the migrant crisis. Democrat sanctuary and open border policies are impacting the quality of life of every New Yorker, costing billions in taxpayer dollars, and causing chaos and danger in our communities.
“It is well past time for the insanity to end – New York must end sanctuary policies that keep law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities when crimes are committed. Since we stood here two weeks ago in support of legislation that would do just that, the nation has been watching the case of Laken Riley with horror – the life of a bright young woman who’s life was brutally cut short by an illegal immigrant. Make no mistake, Laken Riley would be alive today, if not for the bad policies, championed by state and federal Democrats, who opened our borders and continue to refuse to hold criminals accountable,” said Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt.
In response to the inaction of New York Democrats, Assemblyman Gandolfo and Sen. Lanza introduced legislation (S.8533/A.9167) that would require local and state law enforcement and certain courts to notify ICE of the arrest or conviction of non-citizens, reinstate the 365-day maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor, and repeal the “Protect Our Courts Act” of 2020, which was designed to discourage cooperation and enforcement of federal immigration laws.
“New York Democrats have actively undermined federal immigration authorities for years and have even passed laws to protect illegal immigrants who commit crimes against U.S. citizens from deportation. Ultimately, it's innocent people like Laken Riley who pay the price for these reckless sanctuary policies,” said Gandolfo. “Laken's Law would require cooperation between law enforcement agencies and ICE, which could have saved her life.”
“Laken Riley was tragically murdered because New York’s sanctuary policy means that migrants here illegally and who commit a crime have greater protection than law-abiding citizens. Laken would be alive if not for Joe Biden’s open border and Governor Hochul’s perverse and dangerous sanctuary state policy,” said Senate Republican Deputy Leader Andrew Lanza.
Click here for a video of Assemblyman Matt Slater speaking on this bill
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