South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman introduced legislation Thursday that would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to build a publicly searchable database listing criminal illegal aliens released from federal custody, giving Americans direct access to information about individuals with violent or serious criminal histories living in their communities. The bill, obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller, was dubbed the “Worst of the Worst Act.”
The database would include names, photographs, physical descriptions, release dates and cities, and criminal categories. Qualifying offenses cover prior convictions for violent crimes, sexual offenses, weapons violations, drug trafficking, crimes against children, and gang-related enhancements. Once an individual is released from ICE custody, their profile would be uploaded and made searchable by both name and city — giving residents and local law enforcement a tool to identify potential threats before another tragedy occurs.
“Americans have a right to know when violent criminals are being released into their communities,” Norman said. “For too long, weak judges and reckless immigration policies have put public safety at risk while leaving citizens in the dark.”
Norman pointed to several cases he says the legislation could have prevented. The most widely cited is the murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old University of Georgia student killed on her college campus by José Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien who entered the country in 2022 and was subsequently released into the interior. Ibarra was arrested twice in the months before the killing — once in New York for acting in a manner to injure a child and a motor vehicle violation, and once in Georgia for shoplifting. Neither arrest resulted in deportation. Just months later, he murdered Riley on campus. Her cause of death was determined to be from “combined effects of blunt force head trauma and asphyxia.”
The Riley case became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement and the handling of illegal aliens with criminal records. Norman argues that had a database like the one proposed in his bill existed, local law enforcement and the public would have had the information needed to demand action before Ibarra was free to offend again.
A case in Norman’s own state reinforced that argument. Illegal alien Rosali Fernandez-Cruz was sentenced to just one year in prison after a deadly hit-and-run that killed Nathaniel Baker, a 21-year-old University of South Carolina student. ICE had been seeking Fernandez-Cruz at the time of the crash for failing to appear in court in 2018 — a fact that was not publicly available to the community where she lived and drove.
Norman said the pattern is not accidental. Weak enforcement, inadequate vetting, and a lack of public transparency have combined to put Americans at risk, he argues, and Congress has an obligation to change that.
“Families and local law enforcement deserve transparency and accountability in their communities when it comes to dangerous criminals,” he said.
The legislation reflects a broader push among House conservatives to increase public visibility into ICE enforcement decisions and the release of illegal aliens with criminal records. Norman is currently seeking the governorship of South Carolina, where immigration enforcement and public safety have been central themes of his campaign.
The bill has been referred to committee, where its prospects will depend on how leadership prioritizes immigration-related legislation in the months ahead.
