All violent criminal acts are serious, but nothing these days stirs up passion, anger – and political rhetoric – as much as a violent crime committed by an individual here illegally.

The murder last year of university student Laken Riley while jogging in Georgia fits that category.  An undocumented migrant from Venezuela was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison.

Nothing happens in a vacuum and the politics swirling around illegal immigration cannot be ignored.

Republican candidates last year on all levels talked endlessly about migrants and a “crisis at the border,” immediately putting Democrats on the defensive. Whether this issue in itself won the election for Donald Trump is debatable, but it certainly helped.

Fast forward to January, 2025 and the House voted this week to pass the Laken Riley Act,  which would mandate federal detention of immigrants without legal status accused of theft, burglary and other related crimes.

This was a Republican initiative, but 48 Democrats supported it. It is now in the Senate and is expected to pass.

Here’s the Jersey angle:

The two House members running for governor this year – Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer – did not vote on the bill.

These things do not go unnoticed.

The Republican Governors Association called not voting a “slap in the face to every voter.”
Jack Ciattarelli, one of four GOP candidates for governor, said Sherrill and Gottheimer were “gutless.”  He added:

“This brave young woman fought to her last breath against a murderous illegal immigrant, but Josh/Mikie didn’t have the courage to stand up to their extreme far left base.”

One expects Republicans to criticize Democrats, so none of this is overly surprising.

However, Democrat Steve Fulop, another gubernatorial candidate, was watching too.

He called his two House opponents “cowardly.”  Fulop added:

“If you don’t have the courage to vote for a bill then what does that say about your courage to lead as Governor. What does it say about your willingness to stand up to political bosses and charge NJ? If you can’t vote, what does it say about your willingness to demonstrate any core convictions?”

In response, Gottheimer’s office said the congressman supported the bill during an earlier vote last year and that he supports it today. A spokesman said his vote in favor of the bill “will be added to the congressional record.”

Sherrill issued the following statement:

“I worked in law enforcement at the U.S. Attorney’s office and am the only candidate in this race who has put violent criminals behind bars – so I support stronger border security, deporting those who are convicted of violent offenses, and comprehensive reform that brings justice and dignity to our immigration system, not playing politics with a serious issue. The murder of Laken Riley was tragic – this bill, however, does not bring justice for her but instead mandates detention and eliminates due process rights for some people, including DACA recipients, who haven’t been convicted of, or charged with a crime, which is why I previously voted against it.”