S. 5: Laken Riley Act

The Laken Riley Act is now federal law. It expands mandatory immigration detention to certain inadmissible noncitizens who are arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or admit committing acts that amount to burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assaulting a law enforcement officer, or a crime causing death or serious bodily injury.

For covered noncitizens, an arrest or charge is enough to trigger mandatory federal custody; the law does not wait for a conviction. Homeland Security must issue a detainer and take custody promptly when federal, state, or local authorities are not already holding the person. Local law where the conduct occurred determines what the named offenses and serious bodily injury mean.

The law separately authorizes state attorneys general and other designated state officers to seek court orders against federal officials. These suits can challenge specified decisions involving detention at the border, release or bond, visa restrictions for countries that refuse deportees, humanitarian or public-benefit parole, and detention during the removal period.

The law expressly treats more than $100 in alleged financial harm as sufficient harm for these state enforcement suits. Courts must move the cases forward as quickly as practicable, although the law sets no fixed deadline.

Parole remains limited to individual decisions based on urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit. The law names the Homeland Security secretary as the official responsible for that authority and allows states to sue over alleged violations of those limits.