(The Center Square) – The U.S. Senate has voted 84-9 to begin debate on the Laken Riley Act, moving the immigration bill forward to consider changes before actually voting on the bill.
Originally rejected by the Democrat-controlled Senate in the 118th Congress, sponsor Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., reintroduced it as a closed-rule bill attached to the recently adopted 119th House rules package. The House passed it 264-159 on Tuesday, where it received support from 48 Democrats.
The legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain for deportation any migrant residing illegally in the U.S. who additionally “is charged with, is arrested for, is convicted of, admits having committed, or admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of any burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting offense.”
The Laken Riley Act is named after a University of Georgia nursing student murdered in February 2024 by Venezuelan national Jose Antonio Ibarra, who had a prior record of shoplifting in the U.S. but was released from law enforcement custody before committing the murder.
“The Laken Riley Act presents the Senate a simple choice: are we willing to allow illegal immigrants to roam free in our country, or do we want to save American lives?” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said on the Senate floor prior to the vote. “I’m voting to save American lives.”
The bill would also allow states to sue federal officials who violate or refuse to enforce immigration law, and allow individual Americans to sue the government for financial harm over $100 directly wrought by migrants.
Laken Riley’s family submitted testimony in support of the bill.