MSNBC’s Joy Reid accused Republicans of “really demagoguing” the demise of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia whose homicide has turn into important to the immigration coverage debate after a 26-yr-outdated migrant was once arrested for the homicide.

Jose Antonio Ibarra is in custody and in step with ICE, he unlawfully crossed the southern border in 2022.

In a Tuesday dialog with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Reid in short became to Riley and the House-passed Laken Riley Act. The legislation bought the give a boost to of all Home Republicans and 37 Democrats.

Reid known as migrant crime “negligible” and prompt the Laken Riley Act merely reinforces rules already on the books. The law, cosponsored and authored through Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), would drive ICE to detain any migrants commit theft-associated crimes, enable state Legal professional Generals to sue the Secretary of Homeland Safety “for injunctive reduction if immigration actions similar to parole, violation of detention necessities, or other coverage failures harm that state or its citizens.”

“They’ve been really demagoguing a subject matter of a Georgia young lady who was killed, a Georgia younger nursing scholar named Laken Riley. They’ve now handed a legislation known as the Laken Riley Act. All Republican individuals and 37 Democrats voted in the Home to toughen the invoice,” she mentioned. “The legislation requires the detention of any migrant who has been accused of burglary or theft. My understanding is that burglary and theft are already unlawful. What does this regulation add to the current existing regulation? Is it just a messaging invoice? Does it do anything else or alternate the rest? I’ll notice for our target audience overall crime is down this 12 months throughout this united states and migrant crime is negligible.”

Crime fell overall in 2023 with murders seeing an ancient decline. Crime continues to be a concern in main cities like Chicago and New York City although. Chicago, for instance, noticed a thirteen% drop in homicides in 2023, but the number of individuals killed continues to be some of the perfect recorded within the ultimate 20 years. Theft, theft and criminal sexual assault noticed upticks in 2023 within the city.

In New York Metropolis, crime additionally dropped in 2023, but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) additionally just lately deployed a whole bunch of Nationwide Defend squaddies to New York Metropolis’s subways to lend a hand curb crime there.

Whereas Reid argued one thing like burglary is already towards the regulation, supporters of the Laken Riley Act have pointed to the truth that her alleged killer had run-ins with the regulation prior. Atlanta Journal Constitution mentioned that Ibarra and his brother had been issued citations for shoplifting in October 2023. A warrant was later issued for his arrest when he failed to head to courtroom.

Riley was once killed on February 22.

Supporters of the Laken Riley Act argue Ibarra’s unlawful status will have to mean he continues to be detained despite the fact that it is for a misdemeanor crime like theft.

Warnock known as the Laken Riley Act “smoke and mirrors” and referred to as for Republicans to fortify the bipartisan border bill backed via President Joe Biden.

“To reply to your question succinctly, that is smoke and mirrors by means of people who are not serious. We had a bipartisan piece of regulation in entrance of us,” Warnock instructed Reid. “It had lots of provisions, some provisions that some other folks on my side didn’t like, however the only solution to get complete immigration reform, the one means to deal with the current crisis on the border in divided executive is on a bipartisan foundation. And so relatively than demagoguing this tragic death by this younger woman, they should get serious. And let’s go some bipartisan regulation and maintain the challenge on the border.”

Watch above by means of MSNBC.

The publish Joy Reid Claims GOP ‘Demagoguing’ Laken Riley Homicide with Regulation, Migrant Crime ‘Negligible’ first appeared on Mediaite.