(COLORADO) — Newly sworn-in U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO) of Colorado’s 5th Congressional District is taking a stand on the novel Laken Riley Act, an immigration bill that would expand the federal government's mandate to detain immigrants who are illegally in the country. Crank, who spoke to FOX21 News about the bill, said that the immigration issue is at the top of citizens' minds. "If there was a message that was sent in the November election by the American people, it was certainly that they want their borders secure," said Crank. "They want crime to go down, these sorts of things are top of mind for the American people." In Feb. 2024, nursing student Laken Riley was killed when she was running on the University of Georgia campus by a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022. A judge convicted the man of killing Riley and has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The bill would allow the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal immigrants who commit any offenses and mandate that they be removed from the U.S. so they cannot commit any more crimes. Crank, who was sworn in on Jan. 3 said, bad people who are criminals and kill Americans should be deported. "If they are here illegally, they should be deported," Crank said. On Thursday, Jan. 9, a day before Laken Riley's 23rd birthday, senators voted to move the bill forward. The House has already passed the act, which will become the very first bill the new Congress will consider. The final vote in the Senate could happen as soon as next week, Friday, Jan. 17. The bill needs 60 votes to become law, so at least seven democrats would have to vote to pass it too.