The US Senate is expected to hold an initial vote on a bill calling for the detainment of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes on Thursday, as Donald Trump and fellow Republicans press their hardline immigration agenda after their victories in the November elections.
The Laken Riley Act, named after a 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant last year, passed the House on Tuesday in a vote of 264 to 159. The bill secured notable bipartisan support, as 48 House Democrats joined 216 of their Republican colleagues in backing the legislation.
The House vote underscored how Democrats are feeling pressure to take potentially severe steps on immigration in the wake of Trump’s victory, and that dynamic could ease the bill’s path through the Senate as well.
At least eight Democratic senators will need to join their Republican colleagues to overcome the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to end debate on a bill. Several Democratic senators have already indicated they will support advancing the proposal, and at least two – John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Ruben Gallego of Arizona – have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.
“Arizonans know the real-life consequences of today’s border crisis,” Gallego said in a statement on Wednesday. “We must give law enforcement the means to take action when illegal immigrants break the law, to prevent situations like what occurred to Laken Riley. I will continue to fight for the safety of Arizonans by pushing for comprehensive immigration reform and increased border security.”
Some Democratic critics have attacked the bill as a sloppy attempt to rewrite the immigration code in a manner that could undermine federal authority and infringe upon the jurisdiction of local law enforcement. If enacted, the bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes and allow state attorneys general to sue the federal government if they believed their states had been harmed by its failure to enforce immigration laws.
“The murder of Laken Riley was an unspeakable, an appalling crime, a heinous act, and no parent, no family should ever have to bear such a calamity,” representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House judiciary committee, said during the floor debate on Tuesday. “But this bill fails to take any meaningful action to improve our broken immigration system and to prevent crimes like this from occurring again.”
Immigrant rights advocates have also warned that the bill’s enactment could clear the way for Trump to follow through on his threat of mass deportations, as the president-elect has pledged to deport as many as 1 million undocumented immigrants a year.
“Mandating mass detention will make us less safe, sapping resources and diverting taxpayer money away from addressing public safety needs,” Sarah Mehta, senior border policy counsel for the ACLU, said in a statement. “Detaining a mother who admits to shoplifting diapers for her baby, or elderly individuals who admit to nonviolent theft when they were teenagers, is wasteful, cruel, and unnecessary.”
The House’s approval of the Laken Riley Act marked the first bill passage of the new Congress, in a clear sign of Republicans’ laser focus on immigration as they regain control of the White House and the Senate. Republicans have accused Democrats who oppose the bill of ignoring the wishes of voters who delivered a victory for Trump and his party in November.
“House Republicans heard the voices of those who wanted change and voted to pass the Laken Riley Act,” Mike Johnson, the newly re-elected speaker of the House, said in a statement on Tuesday. “We will always fight to protect Americans, and today’s success is just the beginning of Republican efforts to undo the catastrophic damage caused by years of the Democrats’ failed leadership.”
