Submitted by United States Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana
WASHINGTON (January 15, 2025) – Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and colleagues in introducing Sarah’s Law to help make sure U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detains and removes illegal immigrants who kill or seriously injure Americans.
“Because of unfettered illegal immigration, Sarah Root, Laken Riley and other innocent Americans aren’t alive today. We need to pass Sarah’s Law to make sure we protect our communities from violent illegal immigrants,” said Kennedy.
Sarah’s Law would:
- Require ICE to take into custody illegal aliens charged with killing or seriously injuring another person.
- Direct ICE to attempt to identify victims of violent crimes at the hands of illegal aliens and inform their families of the criminal’s name, country of nationality, immigration status, criminal history and custody status. The bill would also require ICE to inform the victim’s family of any efforts to remove the alien from the U.S.
“Sarah Root had her entire life ahead of her before it was senselessly taken by someone who never should have been in this country. Her family has been forced to endure a living nightmare without closure because a glaring loophole in the law has allowed her killer to remain on the run for nearly nine years. For years, I have worked tirelessly to pass Sarah’s Law to honor her memory, hold illegal immigrants that cause bodily harm to our citizens accountable, and ensure this never happens again. I will not give up this fight for justice, because our laws should not prioritize illegal immigrants over the safety of Americans,” said Ernst.
Sarah’s Law is named after Sarah Root, a 21-year-old girl whom an illegal alien killed when he drove drunk. Sarah’s Law would help strengthen federal law so that criminal aliens like Root’s killer would stay behind bars.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Curtis (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) also cosponsored the bill.
The full bill text is available here.
