WASHINGTON — After a presidential election in which President-elect Donald Trump made border security a key issue, U.S. Senate Republicans secured more than enough Democratic support Thursday to move forward with a bill that would significantly increase immigration detention.
The bill, S. 5, sponsored by Katie Britt of Alabama, was supported by 32 Senate Democrats and one independent in an 84-9 procedural vote. The legislation can now move forward for discussion and a final vote after reaching the 60-vote threshold.
Sens. Tina Smith of Minnesota, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Andy Kim and Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii were the only Democrats to vote against the procedural motion. It was also opposed by independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Democrats want a debate on the bill and an amendment process, therefore Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stated hours before the vote that he would vote to allow the bill to move.
Schumer stated on the Senate floor Thursday that this is not a vote on the bill itself. It’s a motion to move forward, a vote that suggests amendments and a debate.
The law would increase mandatory detention requirements for immigrants, even those with legal status, accused of minor offenses like shoplifting. It is named after 22-year-old Laken Riley, a nursing student from Georgia.
Mar a Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of the civic engagement organization Voto Latino, said in a statement that the law undermines important due process rights and is a frightening first step toward widespread family separation.
Even individuals who are lawfully allowed to enter the country to apply for asylum would be affected by the legislation’s extensive detention requirements, which would result in their instant incarceration on the basis of charges of infractions like theft, burglary, or shoplifting, she said. In addition to undermining due process, such actions unfairly single out migrants who are already escaping violence and instability in pursuit of safety.
Additionally, the bill would grant state attorneys general extensive legal authority to contest federal immigration law and immigration judges’ bond rulings.
Those with a discretionary legal status, like those under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, would be included in addition to undocumented immigrants.
When Riley failed to come home from her run, her housemates started to worry. Last month, Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan immigrant, was accused of her murder and found guilty. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement accused Ibarra of illegally entering the country in 2022.
Republicans have pushed for a bill that would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain an immigrant charged or arrested with local theft, burglary, or shoplifting since Ibarra was previously detained on a shoplifting charge and released.
On the Senate floor, Britt stated that her killer, who entered the country illegally, should never have been in the United States and that ICE should have held him right away after he was arrested for several felonies before committing the most horrible, unthinkable act.
During his campaign, Trump frequently mentioned Riley’s murder and attributed her passing to the immigration policies of the Biden administration.
With 48 Democrats joining Republicans, the House passed its version of the bill, H.R. 29, on Tuesday. Last Congress, the bill likewise passed the House on a bipartisan basis, with 37 Democrats voting alongside the Republican Party. The Senate, where Democrats held a narrow majority, saw it stall.
With just seven Senate Democrats required to reach the 60-vote threshold and a Republican-controlled trifecta in Washington following Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the plan has a good chance of passing into law when it comes to a final vote, which worries immigration advocates.
Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, the deputy director of federal advocacy for United WeDream Action, the largest youth immigrant advocacy group, said in a statement that there is no justification for complicity in the violent expansion of the detention and deportation apparatus and the hateful demonization of immigrant communities, especially with Trump’s inauguration just days away and what we know will be a barrage of more attacks against immigrants.
Still in shock over the November election defeats, Democrats have taken a more conservative stance on immigration.
Senators from swing states that Trump won, such as Michigan freshman Elissa Slotkin and Arizona freshman Ruben Gallego, voted for the plan.
According to a statement released by Slotkin, Michiganders have made it very evident that they want action taken to secure our southern border.
Despite the fact that the bill isn’t flawless, she expressed hope for an amendment process.
During their time in the House, Gallego and Slotkin both supported the bill in the previous Congress.
Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, both Democratic senators from Georgia who are running for reelection next year, supported the procedural move.
Before Thursday’s vote, Warnock stated in a statement, “I’m voting to start floor debate on the Laken Riley Act because I think the people of Georgia want their lawmakers in Washington to address the issues in this legislation.”
Gary Peters, a Democratic senator from Michigan who is running for reelection next year, also supported the procedural motion.
