Senators gave a boost Thursday to the Laken Riley Act, voting to head off an initial filibuster of legislation that would push Homeland Security to detain and try to deport illegal immigrants who commit theft or shoplifting crimes.
The 84-9 vote saw most of the Democrats join with Republicans, marking a significant shift in immigration politics.
“Last Congress, Republicans tried to bring up the Laken Riley Act. Democrats blocked us. They wouldn’t even debate it,” said Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican.
This time around, even Democratic leaders voted in favor of bringing the bill to the floor.
Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said his vote wasn’t signaling backing for the bill, but rather for starting a discussion.
“Democrats want to have a robust debate where we can offer amendments and improve this bill,” he said.
The legislation will likely need to clear another filibuster to pass the chamber and that vote won’t be as bipartisan as Thursday’s overwhelming tally.
The Laken Riley Act is the symbolic embodiment of Mr. Trump’s immigration policy. It would require Homeland Security to try to arrest, detain and deport illegal immigrants arrested for even somewhat minor crimes of theft, larceny or shoplifting.
“These individuals crossed our border illegally and then they committed a crime,” said Sen.Katie Britt, Alabama Republican and chief sponsor of the bill. “That’s who we’re talking about.”
The bill is named after Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was slain by an illegal immigrant last February. Jose Ibarra, the murderer, had been let into the country under President Biden’s more relaxed border policies, and had built a criminal record here — including a shoplifting offense — but was still free on the streets.
Riley’s killing elevated the border to a major political crisis for Democrats and an opportunity for President-elect Donald Trump.
A version of the bill cleared the House earlier this week in a significant but not overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. Forty-eight Democrats joined the GOP.
The House also cleared the legislation last year, but Democrats — who controlled the Senate at the time — would not take action on it.
Opponents say the bill tramples on illegal immigrants’ constitutional rights because it would push for detention and deportation even in cases where someone has only been arrested for or admitted to a theft crime, even if they haven’t been convicted of the offense.
“If this bill becomes law, immigrants who are swept up in this enforcement, without even being convicted of a crime, could be permanently separated from their families before having the opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law — in direct violation of their Constitutional rights,” said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition.
Backers countered that detention and deportation are the penalty for any illegal immigrant, regardless of criminal behavior.
In addition to detaining illegal immigrants, the bill would also give states the power to file lawsuits in federal court to force the administration to carry out immigration laws as they are written. That would reverse a Supreme Court ruling last year that found states didn’t have standing to sue over the Biden administration’s lax immigration enforcement policies.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.