Last week, you heard me speak in support of the Laken Riley Act – the vote that we’re going to have later this afternoon.
Today, I’d like to discuss a related bill called Sarah’s Law.
Sarah Root was a young woman from Iowa, who had a bright future ahead of her.
Her life was tragically cut short just one day after she graduated from college with a 4.0 grade point average.
She was killed when an illegal migrant, who was street racing while heavily drunk, crashed his car into this Sarah Root while she was stopped at a red light.
In an outrage of justice, this illegal migrant was released after his arrest.
Sarah’s Law would require immigration authorities to detain criminals responsible for a death or serious bodily injury.
Illegal migrants shouldn’t be here in the first place. Everybody knows it’s against the law to enter the United States without our permission.
Even so, if they come here violating our law, and if they hurt or kill an American, the federal government must prioritize their detention and deportation.
The Trump administration has promised to remove dangerous criminals who crossed our borders illegally.
Sarah’s Law will support those efforts.
I’d like to thank my colleague, Senator Ernst, for her long and tireless efforts to get this bill passed.
Senator Ernst first introduced Sarah’s Law almost a decade ago, and I was proud to join as an original cosponsor and co-lead this effort.
Since then, she has reintroduced the bill with each new congressional session.
We haven’t forgotten Sarah Root, and it’s long past time for Congress to pass this legislation that we named after Sarah – Sarah’s Law.
I urge my colleagues to pass the Laken Riley Act as amended with Sarah’s Law included.
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