Laken Riley Act (signed Jan 29, 2025) mandates federal detention for specified offenses by noncitizens

Close

The statement is not 100% exact but close enough for a reasonable person (e.g., claimed 70% vs. actual 65%). Learn more in Methodology.

Interesting: 0/0 • Support: 0/0Log in to vote

other

The statutory text of the Laken Riley Act contains provisions requiring federal detention for noncitizens accused of the listed offenses, and the law was enacted when signed by the President on the stated date.

Source summary
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security marked the one-year anniversary of the Laken Riley Act, which was signed on January 29, 2025. The law mandates federal detention for noncitizens accused of certain serious crimes; DHS says ICE has arrested more than 21,400 people under offenses covered by the act. The release notes the law is named for Laken Riley, a Georgia student killed by a noncitizen, and includes statements from Secretary Kristi Noem praising the law and ICE removals.
Latest fact check

Primary sources show the Laken Riley Act (S.5, Public Law 119-1) was signed into law on January 29, 2025 and amends 8 U.S.C. 1226(c) to add a subparagraph making aliens who are both inadmissible under certain 8 U.S.C. 1182(a) provisions and charged/arrested/convicted of burglary, theft/larceny/shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury subject to mandatory federal detention and detainer issuance. (See the statute text and official enactment.) Verdict: Close — the claim is largely accurate that the law adds those offenses to the list requiring federal detention and that it was signed on Jan. 29, 2025, but it omits the statutory qualification that detention applies only to aliens who also meet specified inadmissibility criteria (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A),(6)(C), or (7)), so it is not a blanket rule for all noncitizens merely accused of those offenses.

Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 30, 2026, 10:07 AMClose
    Primary sources show the Laken Riley Act (S.5, Public Law 119-1) was signed into law on January 29, 2025 and amends 8 U.S.C. 1226(c) to add a subparagraph making aliens who are both inadmissible under certain 8 U.S.C. 1182(a) provisions and charged/arrested/convicted of burglary, theft/larceny/shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury subject to mandatory federal detention and detainer issuance. (See the statute text and official enactment.) Verdict: Close — the claim is largely accurate that the law adds those offenses to the list requiring federal detention and that it was signed on Jan. 29, 2025, but it omits the statutory qualification that detention applies only to aliens who also meet specified inadmissibility criteria (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A),(6)(C), or (7)), so it is not a blanket rule for all noncitizens merely accused of those offenses.
  2. Original article · Jan 29, 2026

Comments

Only logged-in users can comment.
Loading…