President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law a measure designed to slap stricter penalties on undocumented immigrants who commit crimes on U.S. soil, giving him a platform to push his top issue during the first bill signing of his whirlwind second term.
Speaking at the bill signing ceremony in the White House’s ornate East Room, Trump hailed the Laken Riley Act as an “important” tool in combat illegal migration while also slamming his predecessor’s immigration policies as ineffective and “stupid.” The bill is named after a 22-year-old Georgia woman murdered last year by an undocumented immigrant who had been released after a previous arrest.
The measure cleared both chambers of Congress last week, with 46 House and 12 Senate Democrats joining Republican lawmakers in voting to advance the legislation. Trump claimed Wednesday that more Democrats “wanted” to support the bill, saying: “They probably felt they couldn’t, but they really wanted to. They don’t understand that would have made them a lot more popular.”
