After a young Georgia woman, Laken Riley, was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant who had crossed into the United States from Venezuela Mid-FebruaryElected leaders in her home state have introduced legislation that could protect innocent Americans from a similar fate.

The bill, called the Laken Riley Act, was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who represents the district where the murder occurred. The bill ultimately passed the House in March with a bipartisan vote of 251 to 170.

Soon after, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt introduced the bill in the Senate along with Sen. Todd Budd of North Carolina, but they quickly ran into resistance from Democrats, particularly Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who twice opposed and blocked passage of the bill, which has bipartisan support from 47 senators.

As a result of the objections, every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Senator Britt (R-Montgomery), united in sending a letter to Chairman Durbin urging him to schedule amendments to the bill.

RELATED: Katie Britt proposes the Laken Riley method

“The Laken Riley Act requires ICE to arrest illegal immigrants who commit property crimes (such as burglary, theft, larceny, and shoplifting) and detain them until they are removed from the United States,” the senators wrote. “It also guarantees that states have the right to sue the federal government if federal officials (such as Secretary Mayorkas) refuse to enforce immigration laws.”

“This bipartisan bill is a common-sense measure that will help avert future tragedies resulting from failures to enforce and comply with our immigration laws, and we look forward to the Judiciary Committee's consideration. The Laken Riley Act is just one of many bills introduced by Senate Republicans to better protect the American people from the effects of the ongoing crisis on our southern border and to stop, rather than simply control, the flow of illegal immigrants to our southern border and into the United States.”

“So far in this Congress, the Judiciary Committee has been unable to take meaningful action on any of these bills. We hope that will change in the near future, and we urge you to start with the Laken Riley Act.”

Last week, Senator Britt spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate, delivering the same message to his colleagues.

Today, I spoke on the Senate floor and worked with Senator Graham to pass the Laken Riley Act.

Senate Democrats have once again blocked this bipartisan bill. American families deserve better. https://t.co/soXYhosmwA pic.twitter.com/11jUWm6cZb

— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) May 23, 2024

Austin Shipley is a staff writer for Yellow Hammer News. You can follow him on X. @Shipley Austin