President-elect Donald Trump will have a lot of business to attend to on Inauguration Day, and, if Congressional Republicans get their way, an immigration bill will be on his desk awaiting his signature.

The Laken Riley Act, named for the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was brutally murdered last year by a Venezuelan illegal, is set to be the first piece of legislation passed by the 119th Congress. The bill—which first passed the House in 2024 with bipartisan support, but was blocked by the Democrat-controlled Senate—will come up for a vote Tuesday by the new Congress.

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The bill aims to provide Americans a small amount of protection by detaining illegals who commit non-violent crimes.

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.

Under this bill, DHS must detain an individual who (1) is unlawfully present in the United States or did not possess the necessary documents when applying for admission; and (2) has been charged with, arrested for, convicted for, or admits to having committed acts that constitute the essential elements of burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.

Had this bill, which is just a drop in the bucket of the illegal immigration reform needed in the U.S., been in effect this time last year, Laken Riley would still be alive. The man convicted of her murder had previously been arrested for child endangerment and shoplifting, and thus would have been in custody and not free to prey on young women like Laken Riley.

Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), the original sponsor of the bill, is confident that it will once again be passed with bipartisan House support.

"I'd love to have [the Laken Riley Act] sitting right there on President Trump's desk on the 20th when he sits down."

— Georgia @RepMikeCollins on a bill that will require ICE to take custody of illegal migrants who commit theft-related crimes@SharlaMcBride @Marc_Lotter pic.twitter.com/FBoZ8LpTyc

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) January 7, 2025

REMINDER: President Biden never apologized to Laken’s family for allowing her killer into our country, but he DID apologize for calling that monster “illegal.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) took to X on Tuesday to confirm that the House will be voting on the legislation and remind Americans that Joe Biden once apologized for calling Laken Riley's killer an "illegal."

The House will vote today on the Laken Riley Act to ensure criminals like Laken’s murderer are detained & deported before they can commit such evil acts.

REMINDER: President Biden never apologized to Laken’s family for allowing her killer into our country, but he DID apologize… pic.twitter.com/ZOFox00aWD

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 7, 2025

Once the bill passes the House, it goes to the Senate for a vote. The Chuck Schumer-led Senate blocked the bill from being voted on in March of 2024, but the new Senate majority leader, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), is looking to hold a vote this Friday. 

The legislation got a boost when Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) signed on as a bill co-sponsor, the first Democrat to do so. 

BREAKING: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) sponsors the Laken Riley Act in the Senate.

Fetterman is the first Senate Democrat to sponsor it.

This bill will ensure detention and deportations of criminal aliens before they can commit heinous crimes like what happened to Laken Riley.… pic.twitter.com/SBqGifP5VB

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 7, 2025

The heat is now on other Senate Democrats. There are some reports that the bill doesn't have enough Democrat support to overcome a 60-vote filibuster, but Fetterman's support definitely upends things. Two former House members who are now in the Senate, Democrats Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), previously voted for the legislation.

Once the Laken Riley Act makes its way to the Senate, all eyes will be on Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), who is up for reelection in 2026 and who represents the state in which the heinous crime occurred. Google searches yielded zero instances in which Ossoff commented publicly on the murder of Laken Riley, which is a good indication that he doesn't support the bill. 

As a reminder, President-elect Donald Trump won Georgia by over two percentage points.