(The Center Square) – The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency should know when a noncitizen becomes a criminal defendant in Pennsylvania, according to a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
The one-page bill cleared the state Senate on Monday 31-18, with four Democrats joining the chamber’s 27 Republicans in a yes vote.
Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Johnstown, said the legislation’s “simple” language reaffirms that being in the country without permission is a crime. It also means that defendants would be transferred to federal custody for deportation.
“This legislation is common sense,” he said. “If you’re in our country illegally, and you violate the laws, you will be held accountable.”
Lawmakers pointed to high-profile violent crimes perpetrated by noncitizens, including the rape and murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Texas; the assault of two police officers in New York City; and 22-year-old Laken Riley, a nursing student who was killed while out on a jog on in Athens, Ga., in February 2024.
Riley’s death inspired an eponymous federal law that requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain noncitizens who have been charged with or convicted of theft or violent crimes.
Riley’s killer, Venezuelan citizen Jose Antonio Ibarra, was arrested after illegally crossing the Texas border in 2022. Federal authorities released him to a migrant shelter in New York City before he relocated to Georgia in an apartment complex roughly 1 mile from where Riley’s body was found. He’d faced charges for driving violations and theft before the murder, according to law enforcement.
“There are too many tragedies, too many American families hurt, that could have been avoided if ICE and our state and local authorities were aligned on upholding our immigration laws,” said Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Allentown.
A similar bill passed the Senate last year, though it was not considered in the House.
