119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 29 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 SEC. 2. DETENTION OF CERTAIN ALIENS WHO COMMIT 

4 THEFT. 

5 Section 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1226(c)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

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

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

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

11 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

12 the following: 

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

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

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

16 convicted of, admits having committed, or ad17 mits committing acts which constitute the es18 sential elements of any burglary, theft, larceny, 

19 or shoplifting offense,’’; 

20 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para21 graph (4); and 

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol23 lowing: 

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

25 (1)(E), the terms ‘burglary’, ‘theft’, ‘larceny’, and 
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1 ‘shoplifting’ have the meaning given such terms in 

2 the jurisdiction where the acts occurred. 

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

4 Security shall issue a detainer for an alien described 

5 in paragraph (1)(E) and, if the alien is not other6 wise detained by Federal, State, or local officials, 

7 shall effectively and expeditiously take custody of the 

8 alien.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF A 

10 STATE. 

11 (a) INSPECTION OF APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION.— 

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

13 U.S.C. 1225(b)) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para15 graph (4); and 

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL

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

20 other authorized State officer, alleging a violation of 

21 the detention and removal requirements under para22 graphs (1) or (2) that harms such State or its resi23 dents shall have standing to bring an action against 

24 the Secretary of Homeland Security on behalf of 

25 such State or the residents of such State in an ap-
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1 propriate district court of the United States to ob2 tain appropriate injunctive relief. The court shall ad3 vance on the docket and expedite the disposition of 

4 a civil action filed under this paragraph to the great5 est extent practicable. For purposes of this para6 graph, a State or its residents shall be considered to 

7 have been harmed if the State or its residents expe8 rience harm, including financial harm in excess of 

9 $100.’’. 

10 (b) APPREHENSION AND DETENTION OF ALIENS.— 

11 Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

12 U.S.C. 1226), as amended by this Act, is further amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in subsection (e)— 

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

16 (B) by striking ‘‘grant, revocation, or de17 nial’’ and insert ‘‘revocation or denial’’; and 

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

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

20 STATE.—The attorney general of a State, or other author21 ized State officer, alleging an action or decision by the 

22 Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security 

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

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

25 shall have standing to bring an action against the Attor-
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1 ney General or Secretary of Homeland Security on behalf 

2 of such State or the residents of such State in an appro3 priate district court of the United States to obtain appro4 priate injunctive relief. The court shall advance on the 

5 docket and expedite the disposition of a civil action filed 

6 under this subsection to the greatest extent practicable. 

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

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

9 its residents experience harm, including financial harm in 

10 excess of $100.’’. 

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

12 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1253) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

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

15 STATE.—The attorney general of a State, or other author16 ized State officer, alleging a violation of the requirement 

17 to discontinue granting visas to citizens, subjects, nation18 als, and residents as described in subsection (d) that 

19 harms such State or its residents shall have standing to 

20 bring an action against the Secretary of State on behalf 

21 of such State or the residents of such State in an appro22 priate district court of the United States to obtain appro23 priate injunctive relief. The court shall advance on the 

24 docket and expedite the disposition of a civil action filed 

25 under this subsection to the greatest extent practicable. 
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1 For purposes of this subsection, a State or its residents 

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

3 its residents experience harm, including financial harm in 

4 excess of $100.’’. 

5 (d) CERTAIN CLASSES OF ALIENS.—Section 

6 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

7 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) is amended— 

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

9 it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Se10 curity’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(C) The attorney general of a State, or other au13 thorized State officer, alleging a violation of the limitation 

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

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

16 reasons or a significant public benefit, that harms such 

17 State or its residents shall have standing to bring an ac18 tion against the Secretary of Homeland Security 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 subparagraph to the greatest extent prac24 ticable. For purposes of this subparagraph, a State or its 

25 residents shall be considered to have been harmed if the 
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1 State or its residents experience harm, including financial 

2 harm in excess of $100.’’. 

3 (e) DETENTION.—Section 241(a)(2) of the Immigra4 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)(2)) is amend5 ed— 

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

7 and inserting the following: 

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

9 period,’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GEN12 ERAL OF A STATE.—The attorney general of a 

13 State, or other authorized State officer, alleging 

14 a violation of the detention requirement under 

15 subparagraph (A) that harms such State or its 

16 residents shall have standing to bring an action 

17 against the Secretary of Homeland Security on 

18 behalf of such State or the residents of such 

19 State in an appropriate district court of the 

20 United States to obtain appropriate injunctive 

21 relief. The court shall advance on the docket 

22 and expedite the disposition of a civil action 

23 filed under this subparagraph to the greatest 

24 extent practicable. For purposes of this sub25 paragraph, a State or its residents shall be con-
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1 sidered to have been harmed if the State or its 

2 residents experience harm, including financial 

3 harm in excess of $100.’’. 

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

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

6 1252(f)) is amended by adding at the end following: 

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

8 not apply to an action brought pursuant to section 

9 235(b)(3), subsections (e) or (f) of section 236, or 

10 section 241(a)(2)(B).’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 7, 

2025. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 29 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to 

purposes. in the United States with theft, and for other take into custody aliens who have been charged