FILE - A supporter holds a poster with a photo of Laken Riley before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
President Donald Trump holds up the document Wednesday after signing the Laken Riley Act during an event in the East Room of the White House.
FILE - In this April 17, 2019, photo, reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
President Donald Trump hugs Allyson Phillips, mother of Laken Riley, Wednesday before he signs the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House.
President Donald Trump arrives to sign the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs the Laken Riley Act during an event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs the Laken Riley Act during an event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs the Laken Riley Act during an event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the Laken Riley Act into law, giving federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes. He also announced at the ceremony that his administration planned to send the “worst criminal aliens” to a detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The bipartisan act, the first piece of legislation approved during Trump’s second term, was named for Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was slain last year by a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally.
“She was a light of warmth and kindness,” Trump said during a ceremony that included Riley’s parents and sister. “It’s a tremendous tribute to your daughter what’s taking place today — that’s all I can say. It’s so sad we have to be doing it.”
Trump has promised to drastically increase deportations, but he also said at the signing that some of the people being sent back to their home countries couldn’t be counted on to stay there.
“Some of them are so bad that we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re gonna send ’em out to Guantanamo,” Trump said.
He said he would direct federal officials to get facilities in Cuba ready to receive immigrant criminals.
“We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal aliens threatening the American people,” the president said.
The White House announced a short time later that Trump had signed a presidential memorandum on Guantanamo. Migrant rights groups quickly expressed dismay.
“Guantanamo Bay’s abusive history speaks for itself and in no uncertain terms will put people’s physical and mental health in jeopardy,” Stacy Suh, program director of Detention Watch Network, said in a statement.
Trump said the move would double U.S. detention lockup capacities, and Guantanamo is “a tough place to get out of.”
The Guantanamo facility could hold “dangerous criminals” and people who are “hard to deport,” said a Trump administration official speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration would seek funding via spending bills Congress will eventually consider. The administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, said U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement would run the facility in Cuba and that the “the worst of the worst” could go there.
The U.S. military base has been used to house detainees from the U.S. war on terrorism for years. But authorities have also detained migrants at sea at a facility known as the Migrant Operations Center on Guantanamo, a site the U.S. has long leased from the Cuban government. Many of those housed there have been migrants from Haiti and Cuba.
The U.S. has leased Guantanamo land from Cuba for more than a century. Cuba opposes the lease and typically rejects the nominal U.S. rent payments. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Trump wanting to ship immigrants to the island is “an act of brutality.”
“The US government’s decision to imprison migrants at the Guantanamo Naval Base, in an enclave where it created torture and indefinite detention centers, shows contempt for the human condition and international law,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez wrote in a post on X.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that enemy combatants in the war on terror held without charge at the military prison at Guantanamo had the right to challenge their detention in federal court. But the justices did not decide whether the president had the authority to detain people at all.
Before Trump took office, the Democratic administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden worked to reduce the number of terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo.
Laken Riley was out for a run in February 2024 when she was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who was in the country illegally. Ibarra was found guilty in November and sentenced to life without parole.
Ibarra had been arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, and released to pursue his case in immigration court. Federal officials say he was arrested by New York police in August 2023 for child endangerment and released. Police say he was also issued a citation for shoplifting in Georgia in October 2023.
The act quickly passed the newly Republican-controlled Congress with some Democratic support even though opponents said it possibly could lead to large roundups of people for offenses as minor as shoplifting.
The swift passage, and Trump’s quickly signing it, adds to the potent symbolism for conservatives. To critics, the measure has taken advantage of a tragedy and could lead to chaos and cruelty while doing little to fight crime or overhaul the immigration system.
Riley’s mother thanked Trump while holding back tears.
“He said he would secure our borders and he would never forget about Laken and he hasn’t,” she said.
Several top Republican lawmakers and Noem attended the signing ceremony, as did Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a cosponsor.
Under the new law, federal officials would have to detain any immigrant arrested or charged with crimes such as theft or assaulting a police officer, or offenses that injure or kill someone. State attorneys general could sue the U.S. government for harm caused by federal immigration decisions — potentially allowing the leaders of conservative states to help dictate immigration policy set by Washington.
Some Democrats have questioned whether it is constitutional. The ALCU says the law can allow people to be “mandatorily locked up — potentially for years — because at some point in their lives, perhaps decades ago, they were accused of nonviolent offenses.”
Hannah Flamm, interim senior director of policy at the International Refugee Assistance Project, said the measure violates immigrants’ basic rights by allowing for detaining people who have not been charged with wrongdoing, much less convicted.
“The latent fear from the election cycle of looking soft on crime snowballed into aiding and abetting Trump’s total conflation of immigration with crime,” Flamm said.
She also noted, “I think it is pivotal to understand: This bill, framed as connected to a tragic death, is pretext to fortify a mass deportation system.”
Kennedy
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — Former Clarksburg City Councilman and Mayor Ryan Kennedy will join Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s administration as secretary of veterans assistance.
A U.S. Army veteran, Kennedy said he is excited to be a voice and advocate for West Virginia’s veterans.
“Our job is to serve the veterans of West Virginia and try to improve their lives in any way we can,” he said. “That includes providing care for our older or homeless veterans, as well as assisting with claims and services to help veterans get the benefits they deserve.”
Morrisey announced Kennedy’s selection Tuesday during a press conference at the state Capitol.
“Ryan Kennedy is a friend — he’s a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served as a chemical officer,” Morrisey said. “He’s practiced law for about 20 years, including with the law firm Robinson & McElwee in Clarksburg. Since the end of his military service, Mr. Kennedy has spent countless hours helping veterans through a variety of charitable endeavors and service projects.”
Morrisey
Kennedy said his first priority will be to assess the finances of the Department of Veterans Assistance ahead of the Legislature’s regular session, which begins Feb. 12.
“We need to make sure that we have our ducks in a row so that we know what resources we’re going to need to help veterans for the coming fiscal year,” he said.
Morrisey, who has said the state is facing a $400 million structural budget deficit for fiscal year 2026, has pledged to rein in government spending as he seeks to “right-size” government.
“We’re going to be doing a top-to-bottom review of the department, looking for ways to be more efficient and deliver more bang for the buck,” Kennedy said.
He said he has not yet made any staffing decisions.
“We have an existing staff, and I haven’t made any staffing changes as of yet,” he said. “I’m still evaluating whether to remain with the current staff or make any changes.”
Kennedy’s first foray into politics came in 2013 with a run for Clarksburg City Council. Although he lost by a slim margin, he became a member of council in 2015 when Councilman Patsy Trecost resigned to join the House of Delegates. Kennedy was appointed to serve the remainder of Trecost’s term.
Ryan Kennedy became a member of Clakrsubrg City Council in 2015, when Councilman Patsy Trecost resigned to join the West Virginia House of Delegates and Kennedy was appointed to serve for the remainder of his term.
Kennedy ran for and was elected to a full term on council in 2017. He was chosen by fellow council members to serve as mayor in July 2019.
In a 2017 interview with WV News, Kennedy said he never saw himself as a politician.
Ryan Kennedy and his wife Laura wait for the final results in Clarksburg's municipal election in 2017.
“I have always been interested in politics, but I never saw myself as someone who would actually run for office,” he said.
Kennedy has been involved with numerous organizations in the Clarksburg area, including the Harrison County YMCA, the North Central West Virginia Alzheimer’s Association and the Harrison County Senior Citizens Center.
Ryan Kennedy, who was then mayor of Clarksburg, reads a proclamation declaring Sept. 29, 2019 as Gold Star Mothers and Families Day in Clarksburg, as Kimyacta Simpson, 1st vice president of the American Legion Auxiliary, Unit #13, Clarksburg listens.
A longtime Clarksburg resident, Kennedy has a wife, Laura, and four children. He said he will not move to Charleston full time while serving in the administration.
“I will be in Charleston when need be, but the Department of Veterans Assistance has offices and facilities all over the state of West Virginia,” he said. “I don’t want to be a secretary who sits in his office in Charleston. I want to be out there seeing what’s going on, visiting with the people who work in the department, as well as the veterans being served.”
Clarksburg Mayor Ryan Kennedy delivers remarks during a Veterans Day Celebration in Jackson Square in November 2020.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — The emergency services community in Harrison County is mourning the loss of Jim Jarrett, a trailblazer whose contributions helped shape the region’s emergency communications system.
People who knew James Jarrett called him revolutionary for his work in emergency communications in Harrison County.
Jarrett died Tuesday at age 85.
His impact was so profound that the Harrison/Taylor 911 Center was named the James S. Jarrett Office Complex in his honor.
“Jim could wrangle things when people weren’t on the same page,” said Paul Bump, director of Harrison/Taylor 911. “He could bring everybody together and get them pushed down the right path.”
Jarrett
Jarrett was known for wearing many hats in public service, as well as for his vast knowledge of emergency services.
Reflecting on Jarrett’s knowledge and experience, former Shinnston Mayor Rodney Strait shared a poignant analogy.
“When someone dies, it’s like a library burning down,” Strait said. “If Jim had a library, it would be the size of the Library of Congress.”
“He was kind of a jack of-all trades, in my opinion,” said Jim Jack, a former Harrison County sheriff. “He was deeply involved in the Shinnston Fire Department and also worked with the state Fire Marshal’s Office. But he also loved communications in emergency operations.
“I consider him the sole founder of emergency communications in Harrison County today. It originally started with the Shinnston Fire Department, and they partnered with the Bridgeport Fire Department.”
Over the years, the communications system expanded into the county-wide 911 service used today.
Former Harrison Sheriff Robert Matheny, who began his public service career as a volunteer firefighter in Bridgeport, recalled Jarrett’s visionary leadership.
“He was very forward-thinking and learned a great deal from other parts of the country,” Matheny said. “He brought that knowledge to Harrison County, and I was grateful for his mentorship and vision.”
Bump recalled his first interactions with Jarrett.
“He actually taught one of the fire classes I took,” Bump said. “Within four or five years of that, I was fortunate enough to be hired by him to work in the communications field.”
Jack noted that his professional relationship with Jarrett dated back decades.
“I had the pleasure of an assignment from then-Sheriff Nelson Blankenship to work with Jim on a number of projects in 1982,” Jack said.
Strait credited Jarrett with shaping his firefighting career.
“He was my first fire instructor when I joined the department in 1978,” Strait said. “He took me under his wing and taught me a lot about fighting fires. We fought several fires together.”
Jack highlighted Jarrett’s dedication to improving emergency services by studying best practices nationwide.
“He traveled all over — Chicago, New York and other cities — examining their philosophies and operations,” Jack said. “He then adapted those methods to make them work for us here in Harrison County.”
Before West Virginia had a state fire training facility, Jarrett spearheaded the creation of a training division at the original Harrison County 911 Center, located on U.S. 19 near Shinnston.
“All of us who started firefighting in the 1980s — and for years to come — carry a little bit of Jim Jarrett with us,” Matheny said. “His vision for Harrison County became a reality, and I was grateful to be part of it.”
Bump also acknowledged that his career was shaped by Jarrett’s efforts.
“My career started because of him and a few others who gave me the opportunity,” Bump said. “You owe a lot to the people who came before you, and he is certainly one of them.”
Jim Harris, former Harrison County administrator and executive director of Health Access Inc. and a one-time emergency dispatcher at the 911 Center, shared his sentiments about Jarrett in a Facebook post.
“An amazing man who was my first boss and became a dear friend for almost 50 years. RIP Bureau Chief Jarrett,” Harris wrote.
Jack emphasized the close bond he shared with Jarrett.
“I’ve been friends with him and worked with him ever since 1982,” Jack said. “Until his passing, we talked every day — at least twice, morning and evening.”
Strait fondly recalled the camaraderie he and others shared with Jarrett at a local diner.
“We had a breakfast club at Casey’s restaurant every morning,” Strait said. “We’d have breakfast, tell stories and joke with each other.”
Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates Roger Hanshaw, left, Gov. Patrick Morrisey, center, and West Virginia Senate President Randy Smith appear at a press conference at the State Capitol in Charleston on Wednesday.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — Gov. Patrick Morrisey presented a united front with leaders from the West Virginia Legislature during a press conference Wednesday evening.
Following a closed-door meeting, Morrisey was joined by House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw and state Senate President Randy Smith.
The governor and Hawshaw have previously expressed differing perspectives on the state’s finances, but on Tuesday they said they anticipate working together.
“It’s our intent to have a very strong working relationship with the Legislature — to be able to collaborate on so many different initiatives,” Morrisey said.
Morrisey, who said he wouldn’t be naming specific legislation yet, said he hopes to work with legislative leaders to come up with the “first 20, 25 bills” to be introduced during the session.
He made similar comments during a press conference shortly after the election in November, when he said he wanted to develop a “common agenda” with lawmakers and he wanted to have a “series of bills that might be agreed to up front.”
Morrisey said he, Hanshaw and Smith share a common agenda.
“We are committed to doing everything in our power to continuing on the path of putting as many West Virginians as possible into good-paying, 21st century jobs to give them the capacity to make the best decisions for them and their families,” he said.
The governor pledged to meet regularly with the House and Senate leaders, Smith said.
“He (Morrisey) made a commitment today that he’s going to meet with the speaker and I regularly so we can address issues that are important to both bodies and to the governor,” Smith said. “This is how government is supposed to work.”
Following Wednesday’s meeting, Smith said, he’s convinced it will be a “great session.”
“We’ve got our share of problems to solve, but we’re all on the same page with these issues,” he said.
The Legislature’s 60-day session is set to begin Feb. 12.
Harrison County volunteers wait to get their orders for the 2025 Point in Time Count.
Harrison County volunteers stop and pose for a photo Wednesday before heading out to start the Point in Time Count.
Volunteers conducting the Point in Time Count provide supplies and information to homeless people they encounter.
Volunteers conducting the Point in Time Count can provide Narcan to homeless people they encounter.
Volunteers socialize Wednesday before heading out for the Point-in-Time Count in Harrison County.
Harrison County volunteers made sandwiches they could hand out during the Point in Time Count.
Friends Feeding Friends hands out food in downtown Clarksburg on Wednesday.
Friends Feeding Friends hands out clothing in downtown Clarksburg on Wednesday.
Rhine
Garcia
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — Harrison County volunteers on Wednesday evening took part in the National Point-in-Time Count, an effort to measure the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
Paige Looney, a data management specialist with the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, emphasized the significance of the count.
“The Point-in-Time Count is an annual count of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness across the United States,” he said. “It takes place everywhere. But specifically in West Virginia, it occurs on Jan. 29 over the course of 24 hours.”
The count began at 4 p.m. Wednesday and will conclude at 3:59 p.m. Thursday, Looney added.
Marissa Rhine, director of the Resilience Collaborative with the United Way of Harrison and Doddridge Counties, noted, however, that their team started at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“We’re still going to run until 3:59 p.m. Thursday,” she said. “We’re running three shifts. This is the first shift; then Thursday morning will be the second shift; and Thursday afternoon will be the third shift.”
For the first shift, 13 volunteers participated, with additional volunteers expected to join throughout the count, Rhine said.
“We have additional folks,” she said. “We’re covering the Point-in-Time Count multiple days this year. Historically, volunteers have only gone out on Wednesday evening of the count.”
Rhine noted that for the 2025 count, the goal is to reach more rural areas in Harrison County, such as Shinnston and Salem.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development mandates the count to ensure communities develop appropriate services for people experiencing homelessness, according to Rhine.
“The importance of being able to conduct a count that’s really accurate helps us ensure that we’re developing services and meeting the need in our community,” she said.
For some volunteers, this was their first time taking part in the count. Makayla Garcia, a case manager with the Resilience Collaborative, was among them.
“I’m really excited to participate in the count,” she said. “This is my first time participating or even learning about what the count is. I’m excited to deepen my roots here as an employee of the Resilience Collaborative and in the community.”
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — Investigators with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the FBI, on Wednesday recovered human remains in the Owings area of Harrison County.
The remains were discovered during the execution of a search warrant in the area, located near Shinnston, according to a release from Sheriff Robert Matheny II on Wednesday night.
The remains will be sent to the West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, and more information will be released pending identification, according to Matheny.
Matheny II
Social media reports on Wednesday indicated a “large police presence,” as well as the use of an excavator, at a home in the area.
At that time, Matheny was cautious about releasing any details on what he said is an ongoing investigation.
“We don’t want to jeopardize our investigation by releasing too many details on the case,” he said.
“We’re down there in Owings on a follow-up. It’s an ongoing investigation,” he said. “There is no danger to the public, or anyone that may have been involved at this time.”
No further details have been released.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey, right, said his chief of staff Todd Johnson, left, will serve as will serve as chair of the Energy, Infrastructure, and Competitiveness Council during a press conference Thursday at the State Capitol in Charleston.
