Southeast
Senate Republicans introduce Laken Riley Act, urge immediate consideration of 'commonsense' bill
FIRST ON FOX: Two Senate Republicans introduced the Laken Riley Act, a measure requiring federal immigration authorities to arrest and detain illegal immigrants charged with local theft or burglary, in the upper chamber Tuesday evening.
Introduced by senators Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., the bill serves as the Senate companion to H.R. 7511, originally introduced in the House by Georgia GOP Rep. Mike Collins.
The measure would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal immigrants who commit theft, burglary, larceny or shoplifting offenses and mandate that those who commit such crimes are detained until they are removed from the United States, so they cannot break the same law or commit further crimes.
Additionally, the bill would ensure that states have standing to bring civil actions against federal officials who refuse to enforce immigration law or who violate the law.
HOUSE PASSES LAKEN RILEY ACT REQUIRING ICE TO DETAIN MIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR THEFT
The measure is named after 22-year-old Laken Riley, a college nursing student recently killed on the campus of the University of Georgia. Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal immigrant from Venezuela charged in the murder, was arrested in New York prior to the murder but was not detained by ICE.
Before being charged with felony murder, Ibarra was once arrested in New York for endangering a child, and he was cited in Georgia for misdemeanor shoplifting in October 2023 along with his brother, Diego Ibarra, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The measure is named after 22-year-old Laken Riley, a college nursing student recently killed on the campus of the University of Georgia. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images)
“Make no mistake, Laken Riley’s heartbreaking murder was a direct, preventable consequence of willful open border policies by President Biden and his administration. This commonsense legislation would ensure ICE detains and deports criminal illegal aliens, so more innocent American families do not have to face this kind of unimaginable tragedy,” Britt told Fox News Digital.
“I am grateful for Rep. Collins’ strong leadership and for Sen. Budd’s partnership in introducing this Senate companion bill. Sen. Schumer should bring this bill to the Senate floor immediately.”
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“States should be able to protect their citizens from the Biden administration’s lawless, open border policies by seeking relief in federal court,” Budd told Fox. “That’s why I am joining Sen. Britt to introduce the Senate version of the Laken Riley Act.
Introduced by senators Katie Britt, R-Ala., right, and Ted Budd, R-N.C., left, the bill serves as the Senate companion to H.R. 7511, which was originally introduced in the House by Georgia GOP Rep. Mike Collins. (Getty Images, Laken Riley/Facebook)
“We simply cannot tolerate any more senseless tragedies like this one. What happened to Laken Riley should never happen to any American citizen.”
Collins, who has urged the Senate to take up the legislation immediately to “ensure justice for Laken and give ICE more tools to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens before they commit more serious crimes,” said in a statement shared with Fox he’s “grateful” the “vital” legislation has been introduced in the Senate.
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“The Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly and on a bipartisan basis,” Collins said. “I am grateful to Sen. Britt for taking the lead on getting this vital legislation through the Senate, so we can put Laken Riley’s name on Joe Biden’s desk and take a step toward preventing this from happening to another American.”
Collins’ measure was passed by a 251-170 vote last week by the House. All 170 no votes were Democrats. However, 37 Democrats joined Republicans to advance the bill.
Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District of Athens, where the fatal attack happened Feb. 22, said the murder of Riley is a “wake-up call” for America and that the measure seeks to combat the “illegal crime wave” that he attributes to the ongoing border crisis.
The measure introduced by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., passed by a 251-170 vote last week in the House. All 170 no votes were Democrats. However, 37 Democrats joined Republicans to advance the bill. (Bill Clark)
In the days following Riley’s death, President Biden faced scrutiny for his comments on the subject.
At the urging of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Biden, during an off-script moment in his State of the Union address last week, decried Riley’s killing by “an illegal.” The president later backtracked during an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, saying he should have instead used the word “undocumented” to describe Ibarra.
“I shouldn’t have used illegal, I should’ve … it’s undocumented,” Biden told Capehart. “And, look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about on the border was his — the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood. I talked about what I’m not going to do, what I won’t do. I’m not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country.”
The White House said Monday Biden “did not apologize.”
“First of all, I want to be really clear about something: The president absolutely did not apologize. There was no apology anywhere in that conversation,” principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters aboard Air Force One. “He did not apologize. He used a different word.”
The companion measure in the Senate featured more than 30 original GOP co-sponsors, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., John Boozman, R-Ark., Mike Braun R-Ind., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., John Hoeven, R-N.D., John Kennedy, R-La., James Lankford, R-Okla., Mike Lee R-Utah, Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., John Thune, R-S.D., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Fox News’ Greg Norman, Aubrie Spady, Thomas Phippen, and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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Southeast
GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.
“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.
The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted.
“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.
The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.
“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.
Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021.
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She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.
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Southeast
Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay
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The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.
The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.
Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.
Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.
Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original.
“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.
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“It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.
Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.
In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”
“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.
“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”
“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.
The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.
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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.
Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.
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Southeast
Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges
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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said.
Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)
Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day.
He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later.
Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing.
A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding.
In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported.
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Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)
Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”
“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said.
“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”
Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia. (Provided)
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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person.
“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states.
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