The Signing of the Laken Riley Act is a Tragic Betrayal of Our Values

WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act. The law, which is named for Georgia nursing student Laken Riley who was tragically murdered, calls for the unjust detention of undocumented people accused of theft-related crimes, as small as shoplifting, and allows state attorneys general to sue the federal government if they believe their states had been harmed by its failure to enforce immigration laws. The law falsely correlates immigration status with criminality and scapegoats immigrants rather than improving public safety.  

Mina Dixon Davis, a senior policy analyst at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, released the following statement in response:   

"We mourn Laken Riley’s murder, and we are relieved that her killer has been arrested, tried, and sentenced. However, as advocates for children, we are appalled and saddened to see the passage of the Laken Riley Act, a law that will separate families by arbitrarily detaining parents and caregivers for indefinite periods and contravene children’s best interests.  

Our political leaders have the responsibility to protect children’s rights and well-being, instead of using tragedy to serve political ends. 

All children deserve protection and their best opportunity to thrive. But this new law has no safeguards for children and is a tragic betrayal of our values. Kids are not exempt from the law’s mandatory detention provisions. By signing this bill into law, Congress and the administration refused to uphold children’s best interests–their right to safety, to family unity, to liberty, development, and identity. 

Research shows that children experience immediate and long-term trauma due to detention and family separation. The American Academy of Pediatrics has repeatedly stated that any form of detention is harmful for children, let alone mandatory detention without any basis in a charge or conviction for a crime.  

Its substance is sweeping and dangerous and would strain law enforcement resources by requiring the detention of a huge number of people. The law also gives individual states standing to override the executive branch's federal immigration policy, allowing state attorneys general to sue the government to set policy. This provision raises serious constitutional concerns." 

###  

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a non-profit organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first.