Andrew Clyde: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7511, the Laken Riley Act, and…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7511, the Laken Riley Act, and our hearts do go out to her grieving family today. This bill is in remembrance of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who was tragically murdered in my home community of Athens, Georgia, by an illegal alien who should never have even been in the United States. After illegally entering the country, Laken's murderer was arrested by the NYPD in September of 2023 for acting in a manner to injure a minor and for committing a motor vehicle license violation. Also, according to an Athens-Clarke County police report, this illegal alien went on to shoplift in Georgia the following month. Clearly, this illegal alien had a pattern of criminal history, one that started when he accepted Joe Biden's invitation to illegally enter our country and do so under an abuse of the parole system. He should never have been allowed to reside in the United States illegally, and ICE should have immediately issued a detainer after he committed these crimes because, ultimately, if ICE had issued a detainer, this illegal alien would never have been in the United States to commit the horrific murder of Laken Riley. We must enact changes now to protect communities across the country from facing additional avoidable tragedies. H.R. 7511 provides a commonsense solution to do just that.…”