Georgia House passes bill requiring police to help arrest immigrants after student’s killing

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia House Republicans are backing a bill that would require every eligible police and sheriff’s department to help identify undocumented immigrants, arrest them and detain them for deportation.

The House voted 97-74 on Thursday for House Bill 1105 after police accused a Venezuelan man of beating a nursing student to death on the University of Georgia campus. The measure moves to the state Senate for more debate.

Jose Ibarra was arrested Friday on murder and assault charges in the Thursday death of 22-year-old Laken Riley. Ibarra, 26, is a Venezuelan citizen who immigration authorities say unlawfully crossed into the United States in 2022. It is unclear whether he has applied for asylum.

Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University’s Athens campus, after starting her college career at the Athens campus of the University of Georgia. She was found dead Feb. 22 after a roommate reported that she didn’t return from a morning run in a wooded area.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Arizona Republicans are pushing bills to punish migrants with the border a main election year focus </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Migration through the Darien Gap is cut off following the capture of boat captains in Colombia </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Judge blocks Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants who illegally enter US </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

The bill