Senate advances Laken Riley Act for a second time to begin debate

The Senate on Monday night advanced the Laken Riley Act in a bipartisan 82-10 vote, which will allow debate on the pending legislation to begin in the upper chamber.

The House passed the bill last week, but it is not clear whether Senate Republicans have the necessary votes to pass the legislation in its current form. Approximately seven Democrats have indicated that they would support the bill as it currently stands, including Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, according to The Hill. 

If passed, the act would mandate the detention of illegal immigrants charged with an array of crimes. The bill is named after the late University of Georgia student who was murdered last year by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant who received life in prison.

Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin have both called for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to allow amendments on the bill, which could make passage of the legislation more difficult. Thune previously indicated that he would allow amendments, but no Democrat has introduced amendments so far.

"Thune has said he wants to have amendments and try for bipartisanship. I hope he does,” Durbin told reporters on Monday.

One of the largest concerns from Democrats is the bill forcing immigration officials to place illegal immigrants in detention for merely being charged with a crime instead of being convicted.

“The Laken Riley Act needs to be fixed,” Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said. “It does not work on paper right now. It creates more problems than it solves and it creates enormous chaos in the immigration system.”

The vote on Monday was the next procedural step in getting the bill turned into federal law. Arizona GOP Rep. Andy Biggs last week said he hopes the legislation will reach the Oval Office by Inauguration Day, so President-elect Donald Trump can sign it his first day in office.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.