U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas was among 48 Democrats to vote for the Laken Riley Act. He was joined by Maggie Goodlander, who is serving her first term in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District. Here, Pappas speaks with supporters on Nov. 5, 2024. (Will Steinfeld | New Hampshire Bulletin)
New Hampshire’s two U.S. House members broke from most of their party in supporting legislation to detain immigrants charged with crimes such as theft and shoplifting.
Reps. Chris Pappas, in his fourth term representing the 1st District, and Maggie Goodlander, a first-timer from the 2nd District, were two of 48 Democrats to side with Republicans on the legislation. It passed the GOP-controlled House Tuesday on a 264-159 vote.
Pappas was one of 37 Democrats to vote for the bill when it passed the House last March. Then-Rep. Annie Kuster, who was replaced by Goodlander, voted against it.
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The Laken Riley Act is named for a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered in February while on a jog at the University of Georgia. José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old from Venezula who entered the country illegally, was sentenced to life in prison in November after being found guilty of the murder, as well as other crimes against Riley, including kidnapping and aggravated assault with intent to rape. Ibarra had been previously arrested for shoplifting.
The legislation, H.R. 29, would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain immigrants charged with theft, burglary, larceny, and shoplifting. The measure heads next to the Senate.
In a statement to the Bulletin on his support of the legislation, Pappas said the bill ensures there are consequences for breaking the law.
“We all were rightly horrified by the murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old college student who was killed while running on the University of Georgia campus. Everyone should be held accountable if they commit a crime,” Pappas said. “This bill provides federal law enforcement with the tools they need to ensure that if you are in the United States and break our laws, there will be swift, significant consequences. I have long supported bipartisan legislation to secure our borders and reform our broken immigration system, and I remain committed to funding and supporting New Hampshire law enforcement to keep our communities safe.”
Goodlander, in a statement of the Bulletin on the vote, spoke more broadly of her campaign promises to operate in a bipartisan manner.
“I told the voters of New Hampshire that I would work with anyone – Republicans and Democrats alike – to address our outdated, overburdened, and underfunded immigration system,” Goodlander said. “As your representative in the People‘s House, that is exactly what I am working to do. America is a nation of immigrants and I am committed to building a fair immigration system that includes a pathway to citizenship, treats immigrants with dignity, secures our borders, and stops the flow of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs across our borders.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said the legislation raised questions about due process and would “upend 28 years of mandatory immigration detention policy by requiring that any undocumented immigrant arrested for theft, larceny, or shoplifting be detained, even if they are never convicted or even charged with a crime,” States Newsroom reported.
“Their bill today is an empty and opportunistic measure,” Raskin said.