Sen. Josh Hawley torched a Democrat witness during a tense Senate hearing after the witness attempted to make the case that the Laken Riley Act, created to protect Americans from violent illegal immigrant criminals, should not have been signed into law, leading Sen. Hawley to call out the witness for his extremely faulty logic.
For background, during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on January 16, 2025, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) ripped into Adam Isaacson, Director for Defense Oversight at The Washington Office on Latin America, calling out Isaacson for his opposition to the Laken Riley Act, a piece of legislation that enforces mandatory detention for illegal immigrant criminals.
During the hearing, Isaacson described the murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, at the hands of an illegal immigrant, as an “unusual case.” Moreover, Sen. Hawley quoted Isaacson as writing, “The murder of a nursing student in Georgia has a lot of people on the right talking about migrant crime like it’s an actual issue.”
Responding to Isaacson’s destructive rhetoric, Sen. Hawley said of Laken Riley, “Her horrific murder at the hands of this illegal migrant, who was also unlawfully paroled in the United States, her death [according to Isaacson, was] not an actual issue.” He added that based on Isaacson’s statements, “It’s a tragedy, but not an actual issue.”
Attempting to defend himself, Isaacson replied, “Migrant crime is much less of an issue than US citizen-committed crime.” Sen. Hawley shot back, “‘Not an actual issue.’ Those are your words. Her death [is] not an actual issue.” Isaacson replied, “Of course, it’s an issue. It’s a tragedy.” Hawley then asked, “What’s your advice to us? We just discontinue those proceedings now?”
Doubling down despite the pushback, Isaacson said, “I think the Laken Riley Act could do a lot of harm. It would, it would allow me to say, oh, this person shoplifted, and that would be enough probable cause to get somebody deported.” Sen. Hawley replied, “You’re here as a spokesman for the minority party. I just want to make sure the record’s clear on this: the spokesman for the minority party is advising the Senate that the Laken Riley Act is a bad idea and we ought to stop it.”
Continuing, Sen. Hawley said that he could not believe what he was hearing from Isaacson, going on to add, “Mister Isaacson, I actually think, and I want the record to be clear on this, that migrant crime is a real issue. I think the Laken Riley Act is absolutely necessary.” He went on, “In fact, I propose an amendment to the Laken Riley Act that will cover people like [migrant crime victim] Travis Wolf.”
"*" indicates required fields
Furthermore, the senator told Isaacson that the murders of Wolf and Riley, along with many others, “are actual issues,” adding, “And the fact that you would say otherwise, sit here and advise the Senate that the Laken Riley Act is a bad idea, that the whole thing is not an actual issue. [You] tell us it’s what: made up? I think it is outrageous.”
Watch Sen. Hawley torch Isaacson:
Featured image credit: video screengrab