I 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 29 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens 

who have been charged in the United States with theft, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2025 

Mr. COLLINS (for himself, Mr. ALLEN, Ms. GREENE of Georgia, Mr. CLYDE, 

Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. MCCORMICK, Mr. BOST, Mr. BABIN, Mr. FEENSTRA, Ms. MACE, 

Mr. CLINE, Mr. NEHLS, Mr. OGLES, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. 

FINSTAD, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mrs. HINSON, Mrs. HOUCHIN, Ms. 

MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. EZELL, Ms. TENNEY, Mrs. LUNA, Mr. OWENS, Mr. 

FITZGERALD, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of 

South Dakota, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. NUNN of Iowa, Mr. 

JACK, Mr. BRESNAHAN, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mrs. 

HARSHBARGER, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. FISCHBACH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into 

custody aliens who have been charged in the United 

States with theft, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Laken Riley Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DETENTION OF CERTAIN ALIENS WHO COMMIT 

2 THEFT. 

3 Section 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1226(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

7 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 

8 comma at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

9 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(E)(i) is inadmissible under paragraph 

12 (6)(A), (6)(C), or (7) of section 212(a), and 

13 ‘‘(ii) is charged with, is arrested for, is 

14 convicted of, admits having committed, or ad15 mits committing acts which constitute the es16 sential elements of any burglary, theft, larceny, 

17 or shoplifting offense,’’; 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para19 graph (4); and 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph 

23 (1)(E), the terms ‘burglary’, ‘theft’, ‘larceny’, and 

24 ‘shoplifting’ have the meaning given such terms in 

25 the jurisdiction where the acts occurred. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DETAINER.—The Secretary of Homeland 

2 Security shall issue a detainer for an alien described 

3 in paragraph (1)(E) and, if the alien is not other4 wise detained by Federal, State, or local officials, 

5 shall effectively and expeditiously take custody of the 

6 alien.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF A 

8 STATE. 

9 (a) INSPECTION OF APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION.— 

10 Section 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1225(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para13 graph (4); and 

14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL

17 OF A STATE.—The attorney general of a State, or 

18 other authorized State officer, alleging a violation of 

19 the detention and removal requirements under para20 graphs (1) or (2) that harms such State or its resi21 dents shall have standing to bring an action against 

22 the Secretary of Homeland Security on behalf of 

23 such State or the residents of such State in an ap24 propriate district court of the United States to ob25 tain appropriate injunctive relief. The court shall adVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:43 Jan 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H29.IH H29

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1 vance on the docket and expedite the disposition of 

2 a civil action filed under this paragraph to the great3 est extent practicable. For purposes of this para4 graph, a State or its residents shall be considered to 

5 have been harmed if the State or its residents expe6 rience harm, including financial harm in excess of 

7 $100.’’. 

8 (b) APPREHENSION AND DETENTION OF ALIENS.— 

9 Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

10 U.S.C. 1226), as amended by this Act, is further amend11 ed— 

12 (1) in subsection (e)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘or release’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘grant, revocation, or de15 nial’’ and insert ‘‘revocation or denial’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF A

18 STATE.—The attorney general of a State, or other author19 ized State officer, alleging an action or decision by the 

20 Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security 

21 under this section to release any alien or grant bond or 

22 parole to any alien that harms such State or its residents 

23 shall have standing to bring an action against the Attor24 ney General or Secretary of Homeland Security on behalf 

25 of such State or the residents of such State in an approVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:43 Jan 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H29.IH H29

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1 priate district court of the United States to obtain appro2 priate injunctive relief. The court shall advance on the 

3 docket and expedite the disposition of a civil action filed 

4 under this subsection to the greatest extent practicable. 

5 For purposes of this subsection, a State or its residents 

6 shall be considered to have been harmed if the State or 

7 its residents experience harm, including financial harm in 

8 excess of $100.’’. 

9 (c) PENALTIES.—Section 243 of the Immigration 

10 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253) is amended by add11 ing at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF A

13 STATE.—The attorney general of a State, or other author14 ized State officer, alleging a violation of the requirement 

15 to discontinue granting visas to citizens, subjects, nation16 als, and residents as described in subsection (d) that 

17 harms such State or its residents shall have standing to 

18 bring an action against the Secretary of State on behalf 

19 of such State or the residents of such State in an appro20 priate district court of the United States to obtain appro21 priate injunctive relief. The court shall advance on the 

22 docket and expedite the disposition of a civil action filed 

23 under this subsection to the greatest extent practicable. 

24 For purposes of this subsection, a State or its residents 

25 shall be considered to have been harmed if the State or 


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1 its residents experience harm, including financial harm in 

2 excess of $100.’’. 

3 (d) CERTAIN CLASSES OF ALIENS.—Section 

4 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

5 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 

7 it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Se8 curity’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) The attorney general of a State, or other au11 thorized State officer, alleging a violation of the limitation 

12 under subparagraph (A) that parole solely be granted on 

13 a case-by-case basis and solely for urgent humanitarian 

14 reasons or a significant public benefit, that harms such 

15 State or its residents shall have standing to bring an ac16 tion against the Secretary of Homeland Security on behalf 

17 of such State or the residents of such State in an appro18 priate district court of the United States to obtain appro19 priate injunctive relief. The court shall advance on the 

20 docket and expedite the disposition of a civil action filed 

21 under this subparagraph to the greatest extent prac22 ticable. For purposes of this subparagraph, a State or its 

23 residents shall be considered to have been harmed if the 

24 State or its residents experience harm, including financial 

25 harm in excess of $100.’’. 


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1 (e) DETENTION.—Section 241(a)(2) of the Immigra2 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)(2)) is amend3 ed— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘During the removal period,’’ 

5 and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During the removal 

7 period,’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GEN10 ERAL OF A STATE.—The attorney general of a 

11 State, or other authorized State officer, alleging 

12 a violation of the detention requirement under 

13 subparagraph (A) that harms such State or its 

14 residents shall have standing to bring an action 

15 against the Secretary of Homeland Security on 

16 behalf of such State or the residents of such 

17 State in an appropriate district court of the 

18 United States to obtain appropriate injunctive 

19 relief. The court shall advance on the docket 

20 and expedite the disposition of a civil action 

21 filed under this subparagraph to the greatest 

22 extent practicable. For purposes of this sub23 paragraph, a State or its residents shall be con24 sidered to have been harmed if the State or its 


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1 residents experience harm, including financial 

2 harm in excess of $100.’’. 

3 (f) LIMIT ON INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Section 242(f) 

4 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1252(f)) is amended by adding at the end following: 

6 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN ACTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall 

7 not apply to an action brought pursuant to section 

8 235(b)(3), subsections (e) or (f) of section 236, or 

9 section 241(a)(2)(B).’’. 

Æ 


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