The Laken Riley Act, a bipartisan bill in Congress, aims to expand the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes. The bill mandates federal detention for those accused of crimes like theft or burglary, which could divert law enforcement resources away from combating real crime. Law professor Ilya Somin argues that the bill is unjust and could lead to the detention of individuals who pose little or no threat to public safety.
Somin believes that the Laken Riley Act gives law enforcement officials perverse incentives to detain undocumented immigrants, even if the accusations against them have little or no basis. He argues that mandatory detention without conviction or trial is a violation of due process and a waste of law enforcement resources. Additionally, the economic costs of detaining individuals for minor suspicions could have negative impacts on the economy and families of those detained.
As a libertarian, Somin believes that legal migration should be made easier to benefit migrants, the U.S. economy, and reduce disorder at the border. He argues that public opinion should not determine the rightness of a policy, as there is a history of popular policies being unjust. Somin suggests that the Laken Riley Act, if popular, may not be fully understood by the public and could have negative consequences on violent crime.
