Washington, DC — The first piece of legislation President Trump will sign into law includes provisions Iowa’s congressional delegation has sought for the past eight years.
Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra is a sponsor of “Sarah’s Law” — named for a 21-year-old Council Bluffs woman who died in Omaha just hours after she’d graduated from college.
Federal officials did not detain the illegal immigrant who police had arrested and charged with Root’s death and he disappeared after posting bail.
Sarah’s Law requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to keep illegal immigrants in custody if they’ve been arrested and charged with murder or seriously injuring someone.
The proposal was crafted after Sarah Root’s case was added onto the Lakin Riley Act, which requires ICE to detain illegal immigrants accused of theft or burglary. Lakin Riley is a Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant who’d previously been arrested for shoplifting. The combination of these two bills passed the US Senate Monday and it cleared the US House on Wednesday on a 263-to-156 vote.
