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President Trump signs the Laken Riley Act

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WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - President Donald Trump signed the first law of his second term Wednesday at the White House.

Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, a strict immigration detention measure named for a 22-year-old Georgia nursing school student who was murdered last year by an undocumented immigrant.

The legislation is aimed at clamping down on people in the U.S. illegally who commit nonviolent crimes like theft.

In his remarks, Trump touted the bipartisan support for the bill saying, "This is something that has brought Democrats and Republicans together. That's not easy to do. Laken did it. Laken did it. America will never, ever forget Laken Hope Riley."

Trump also clarified his policies on government efficiency saying:

"If they're working for the federal government, they must show up to the office on time and on schedule. We don't want them to work from home, because, as everyone knows, most of the time, they're not working, they're not very productive, and it's unfair to the millions of people in the United States who are in fact working hard from job sites and not from their home. As federal employees, they must meet a high standard. They're representing our government. They're representing our country. If they don't agree by February 6 to show up back to work in their office, they will be terminated, and we will therefore be downscaling our government."

In addition, Trump announced plans to house tens of thousands of migrants at Guantanamo Bay.

"I'm also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay. Most people don't even know about it. We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people," Trump remarked.

The Laken Riley Act passed in the House last week was 263-156, with 46 Democrats joining all Republicans in support of the measure.

The bill passed in the Senate last Monday by a vote of 64-35, winning 12 Democratic votes.

Article Topic Follows: National Politics

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Dillon Fuhrman

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