New GOP proposal builds off Laken Riley Act with slew of crimes targeting illegals

EXCLUSIVE: Legislation will be introduced Tuesday to expand the list of crimes that would require a migrant to be taken into custody.

The "Safeguarding American Property Act" would add arson, vandalism and trespassing to the crimes that would require those in the country illegally to be placed into federal custody.

"Property rights are a fundamental American value," Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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Immigrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico, on Aug. 6, 2022, in Yuma, Arizona. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

"Those who disregard our laws by committing acts of vandalism or trespassing on private property, especially those who broke our laws crossing our borders, must not be allowed to remain. This bill builds on the good work of the Laken Riley Act and takes another step toward reversing Biden's border crisis. I appreciate the support of the bill’s cosponsors, and I look forward to getting this legislation passed into law to keep our communities safe," he continued.

Specifically, it would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Montana Republican’s legislation is meant to help rural communities, which could have limited law enforcement resources to protect property. 

Many properties along the southern border faced damage as a result of the high volume of migrants that came across throughout the Biden administration, which triggered the state of Texas to create the Landowner Compensation Program to help repay those in agricultural communities.

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Cattle graze at a ranch in Blanchard, Oklahoma, on Dec. 2, 2021. (Nick Oxford/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Illegal aliens crossing the Texas-Mexico border at Joe Biden’s invitation leave behind a trail of destruction that harms Texas agricultural land," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in May 2024. "This program will provide needed relief to Texans whose property is damaged by foreign aliens waved into the country by the federal government. I am glad to help the farmers and ranchers on our borderlands who bear the costs of Biden’s destructive policies."

Downing’s proposal builds off the Laken Riley Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump this winter. The act garnered some bipartisan support, as it made theft, similar criminal charges or assaulting an officer triggers for federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants for potential deportation.

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Laken Riley was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

The law is named after a late 22-year-old nursing student who was killed by illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra while on a jog on the University of Georgia campus.

Ibarra had been arrested in the past but was not taken into ICE custody, and he’s now facing life behind bars.

"This horrific atrocity should never have been allowed to happen," Trump said at the time, as it was the first bill signed in his second term. "And as president, I'm fighting every single day to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again."

Fox News’ Diana Stacy contributed to this report.