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Trump Signs the Laken Riley Act; Her Mother Calls Him a Man of His Word

January 31, 2025 · The White House · 0:01:46

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Trump said that in a few moments the Laken Riley Act would become the very first bill he proudly signs into law as the 47th President of the United States, according to Trump.

Laken Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, thanked the president for the promises he made to the family, saying he said he would secure the borders and would never forget about Laken, and he has not — he is a man of his word, according to Phillips. She said no amount of change will ever bring back their precious Laken, and that the family’s hope is that her life saves lives, according to Phillips.

Trump described Laken Riley as a brilliant and beautiful 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was attacked, beaten, brutalized, and murdered by an illegal alien gang member set loose into the country by the last administration, according to Trump. He said that under the law he was signing, the Department of Homeland Security will be required to detain all illegal aliens who have been arrested, and that for the first time the act gives state governments the ability to sue the federal government if any future administration refuses to enforce U.S. immigration laws, according to Trump. He said Laken’s name will live forever in the laws of the country, that the act brought Democrats and Republicans together, and that he is fighting every day to ensure such a tragedy never happens again, according to the remarks.

Why it matters

The signing made the Laken Riley Act the first law of Trump’s second term, with its two operative features — mandatory detention of arrested illegal aliens and a state right to sue over non-enforcement — stated by the president at the signing itself.

Sources: The White House, “Laken Riley’s Mother: President Trump “Is a Man of His Word””, 2025-01-31 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-01-31). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.