A bipartisan bill to crack down on illegal immigration cleared the Senate within hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, all but ensuring it will soon become law.
The Laken Riley Act, which passed 64-35, would require federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants charged or convicted of theft-related offenses until they can be deported.
The House passed the measure earlier this month but will need to hold another vote after the Senate amended the list of crimes that trigger detention to include assault of a police officer and crimes resulting in “death or serious bodily harm.”
“This legislation will ensure that illegal aliens who steal or assault a law enforcement officer is detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement instead of being allowed out on the streets,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said from the Senate floor on Monday.
Senate passage gives Trump a legislative victory on his first day back in the White House and jump-starts his sweeping agenda to curb illegal immigration. It will be the first bill approved by the new Republican-controlled Congress and be accompanied by 10 immigration-related executive orders that Trump signed on Monday, including steps to end birthright citizenship, declare a national emergency at the southern border, designate drug cartels as terrorist organizations, and resume construction of the southern border wall.
The act was named after the 22-year-old nursing student killed last year while jogging at the University of Georgia, allegedly by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who was previously arrested but released. Most Democrats opposed it over due process concerns and a provision that empowers state attorneys general to bring lawsuits more easily against the federal government over its handling of illegal immigration.
A last-minute attempt by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) to exclude so-called Dreamers and children under 16 from mandatory detention was blocked by the measure’s lead sponsor, Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL).
Twelve Democrats ultimately sided with all Republicans. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) was the lone Democrat to support final passage after previously voting against the bill during procedural votes. The other Democrats to vote in favor were Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Mark Warner (D-VA). Ossoff, Peters, Shaheen, and Warner are up for reelection next year.
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Trump made brief mention of the legislation during a speech to supporters at the Capitol on Monday.
“I wish we could have had a better relationship between Republicans and Democrats. I was with Sen. Schumer. I said, ‘Chuck, I think it’s time we all start getting along a little bit because it doesn’t make sense. I mean, we literally never get a Democrat vote,’” Trump recalled, flanked by Vice President J.D. Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
“They never get a Republican vote, almost,” he added. “Although, there is a bill coming up very shortly that we have a lot of Democrat votes, right? It’s going to be a very beautiful bill.”
