
AG James argues against Laken Riley immigrant bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – NEW YORK Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, along with eight other state attorneys general and numerous elected officials and community leaders, sent a letter to Congress expressing opposition to the Laken Riley Act. The bill, currently before the Senate, would require the detention of undocumented immigrants arrested – not necessarily convicted – of offenses including theft and shoplifting, according to the letter. The bill is named after Laken Riley, a Georgia student murdered by illegal immigrant José Antonio Ibarra, who had been previously arrested on other charges – and then released – in both New York City and Georgia. Her case, which ended in November with Ibarra’s conviction, became a hot-button issue with immigration advocates and opponents, and raised questions over bail reforms.
James in the letter wrote that the bill would violate due process by detaining people before trial on the basis of accusations alone, and highlighted a concern that the threat of detention could be weaponized against domestic abuse victims. The letter also asserts that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would struggle to enforce the bill’s provisions, and that litigation resulting from the bill would overwhelm the courts.
“It offends basic due process and fair treatment to impose prolonged civil detention on the basis of accusations alone. The very lynchpin of our criminal justice system is innocence until proven guilty, and this law would prevent the proper administration of justice by sweeping people into immigration detention before their cases can be tried and heard,” signatories state in the letter.
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