Mike Collins touts passage of Laken Riley Act at GOP midterm convention

DALLAS — U.S. Rep. Mike Collins appeared on stage at the Republican Party’s midterm convention Wednesday following a documentary-style video about the life and death of Laken Riley, the Georgia college student murdered in 2024 by a man who had entered the U.S. illegally.

“Laken Riley’s tragic murder was a deliberate decision,” said Collins, R-Jackson. “A decision by an illegal criminal who had no remorse or caring for Laken, and a decision by my Senate opponent, Jon Ossoff, and every single Democrat to open our borders, bring lawlessness to our communities, and deliver pain and suffering to the American people.

The video showed Riley’s family talking about her faith, her bubbly personality and how they continue to grieve her passing. But they also spoke about their disdain for President Joe Biden, whose border policies they say were to blame.

“I do believe that if President (Donald) Trump were in office, this never would have happened,” Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, said in the video.

As the video ended, Collins emerged on the stage and introduced himself as the author of the Laken Riley Act, an immigration enforcement law named in her honor. He received a standing ovation then dived into a speech that accused Democrats, especially U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, of refusing to partner with Republicans to crackdown on immigration.

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was killed Feb. 22, 2024, while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus. Her death, and the subsequent arrest and conviction of Jose Ibarra, a native of Venezuela, quickly became a rallying cry for Republicans who blamed Biden for not doing enough to curb illegal immigration at the southern border.

Riley’s family was present when Trump made the Laken Riley Act the first bill he signed into law during his second term. The law requires federal officials to detain migrants accused of theft and a series of other property and violent crimes and has been credited with helping the Trump administration increase the number of immigrants taken into custody.

Riley’s family have also appeared with Trump and other Republicans at campaign events. While most Democrats in Congress voted against the Laken Riley Act, several from Georgia voted for it, including Ossoff.

It wasn’t just immigration where Collins said his opponent and the Democratic Party at large had got it wrong. He said they were wrong for voting against the One Big Beautiful Bill, voting to block government funding and prolonging last year’s shutdown, and opposing legislation to restrict transgender girls from sports and using the bathroom of their choice.

“You see, Jon Ossoff’s not a man who cares about Georgia,” Collins told the crowd. “He’s voted at every opportunity to make our lives less safe, more expensive and worse off.”

Collins’ time on stage lasted roughly six minutes. But appearing at the convention allows him to rub elbows with deep-pocketed donors that could cut checks to his campaign in the final stretch. It also put him in front of a potential television audience of millions of Americans watching at home, particularly those in Georgia who will head to the polls in a matter of weeks.

But the Jackson Republican faces an uphill battle against Ossoff, who continues to lead in all the polls and has a big fundraising advantage.

Collins has been dogged by a series of controversies, including being named in an ethics investigation regarding the actions of his former chief of staff, Brandon Phillips, who is accused of misusing office funding and hiring his girlfriend to a no-show internship.

Colins declined any wrongdoing and stood by Phillips initially. But he later fired him after Phillips used the campaign’s official social media account on X to make a vulgar and offensive post targeting a staffer for a GOP primary rival.

Later, Collins faced scrutiny after CNN reported that his son-in-law who lives on Collins’ property used his personal social media accounts to make white nationalist and antisemitic statements.

And more recently, the Washington Post reported that a former aide to Collins posted a swastika to his social media account and shared an photo of himself wearing what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan attire.

Collins has condemned antisemitism and said the posts by others in his circle does not speak for him. From the convention stage, he did not address these controversies.