The Laken Riley Act passed a key first step in the Senate and a final vote is expected next week
Only 9 of the 47 Democrats in the upper chamber voted against the legislation that already passed the House with bipartisan support.
John Thune has been Senate Republican leader for just days/ Ting Shen.
The Laken Riley Act overcame a filibuster in the Senate and a final vote is expected to take place next week. According to this rule, it requires a bill to have 60 votes in the upper chamber to get out of debate and move to a final vote. On Thursday afternoon, 84 of 100 senators voted to advance the Republican-authored legislation, which would force Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal immigrants for "any theft, burglary or shoplifting offense."
All Republicans and a good portion of Democrats voted in favor, including leaders such as Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Dick Durbin (D-IL). Only nine Democrats voted against and they were as follows: Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Tina Smith (D-MN).
While Mike Collins (R-GA) introduced the bill in the House, responsible for doing so in the Senate was Katie Britt (R-AL), who celebrated the outcome of the vote.
"Today’s vote on the Laken Riley Act is an important step forward in making our country safer, but there’s still more work to be done to get this commonsense legislation across the finish line," she said via a statement.
"Laken’s horrific murder should never have happened. While we cannot bring Laken back, Congress can and must pass the Laken Riley Act to save American lives and prevent this tragedy from repeating itself. Congress has an obligation to Laken, her family, and to Americans in every corner of our country to get this bill passed and signed into law," she added.
The legislation is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22, 2024. The man responsible for the crime, Jose Ibarra, was sentenced in November to life imprisonment without parole.
What does the Laken Riley Act do?
According to Congressman Collins, the legislation directly addresses one of the problems related to Riley's murder.
"Her murderer, Jose Ibarra, is an illegal alien who had been previously cited for shoplifting by the Athens Police Department. If local law enforcement had called ICE, and ICE issued a detainer and picked him up, Laken would be alive. Ibarra was found guilty in November 2024 and has been sentenced to life without parole," explained the Georgia Republican.
With this in mind, the legislation would do two things:
- It would amend federal law to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers and take custody of illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes, such as shoplifting, as defined by state and local laws.
- It would allow state attorney generals to sue the secretary of Homeland Security for injunctive relief, should immigration actions such as parole, failure to comply with detention requirements or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens.
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