More Democratic senators are getting on board with legislation requiring federal law enforcement to detain illegal immigrants arrested for theft and related crimes until they are deported.
Democratic senators Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Slotkin (Mich.), and Rosen (Nev.) have joined colleagues Fetterman (Pa.), Gallego (Ariz.), and Peters (Mich.) in backing the Laken Riley Act, a bill named after the Georgia nursing student murdered by a bloodthirsty illegal immigrant last year.
“I plan to vote for the Laken Riley Act, just as I did last year in the House. Like many bills, this one isn’t perfect, and I’m hopeful there will be an amendment process,” Slotkin said Wednesday on X.
“Michiganders have spoken loudly and clearly that they want action to secure our southern border. We must get past petty partisanship that continues to dominate the immigration debate.”
Gallego, who previously voted for the legislation in the House, said he will be co-sponsoring the bill because of Arizona’s first-hand experience with the crisis at the southern border.
“Not only am I voting yes on the Laken Riley Act, I’m cosponsoring the bill. Arizonans know better than most the real consequences of today’s border crisis. We must give law enforcement the means to take action to prevent tragedies like what occurred to Laken Riley,” Gallego said in a statement.
Senators Ossoff (D., Ga.), Hickenlooper (D., Colo.), Duckworth (D., Ill.), and King (I., Maine) are also expected to vote for advancing the Laken Riley Act, granting it the 60 vote threshold needed to avoid the filibuster. Pushing the bill through would allow the Senate to debate and amend it to address Democratic concerns before it heads to a final vote.
The Senate is holding a procedural vote to advance the legislation on Thursday. House lawmakers voted on a bipartisan basis to pass the Laken Riley Act earlier this week, with 48 Democrats joining all available Republicans. The number of House Democrats in favor of the legislation increased from the 37 who voted for it when it was first introduced in the House last year.
Several of the Democratic senators represent swing states President-elect Donald Trump won this past November, in part because of widespread dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s approach to the southern border.
Trump has promised to launch mass deportations and greatly restrict the flow of illegal immigrants across the southern border when he returns to office later this month. Restricting illegal immigration has been a signature promise of Trump’s political career and it helped him resoundingly defeat Vice President Kamala Harris this past November.
Riley’s mother and stepfather have voiced support for the legislation, which stalled in the Senate after passing the House following Riley’s death at the hands of Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison this past November after waiving his right to a jury trial.
Ibarra’s brutal slaying of Riley gained national attention and sparked discussions about the record levels of illegal immigration under President Joe Biden. Biden attempted to say Riley’s name during his state of the union address last year, but he mispronounced it and later received backlash from progressives for calling Ibarra an “illegal.”