No longer just campaign trail rhetoric, President Donald Trump’s insistence that immigration to the United States amounts to an “invasion” may be critical to unlocking extraordinary powers as the administration carries out his deportation agenda.

The Laken Riley Act, named for the slain nursing school student who was attacked and killed by a Venezuelan citizen who had entered the U.S. illegally, is the first legislative win of Trump's second term.

Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act on Wednesday as the president approves a series of initiatives meant to tackle his goal of curbing illegal immigration.

The law will have an impact on California,” said Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis School of Law. The Laken Riley Act, which passed Congress last week with significant Democratic support, requires federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants charged with minor crimes such as burglary and theft.

Trump called it a "tremendous tribute" to the Georgia nursing student whom the legislation is named after. The law required federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants before their conviction if they are accused of crimes like theft,