(The Center Square) – Following days of debate, the U.S. Senate passed the Laken Riley Act 64-35 on Monday, empowering the Department of Homeland Security to detain and deport any illegal immigrants accused of theft-related crimes, assaulting law enforcement or actions causing serious injury or death after one final vote in the House.
The original bill only required the department to detain migrants residing illegally in the U.S. who additionally are charged with theft-related crimes. The Senate passed amendments adding assault on law enforcement and deadly crimes as detainable offenses on Friday and Monday evening, respectively.
The legislation also allows states to sue federal officials who violate or refuse to enforce immigration law, and individual Americans to sue the government for financial harm over $100 directly wrought by migrants.
“We are a proud nation of immigrants. We are also a nation of laws. And the lawlessness ends today,” the bill’s sponsor Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said Monday.
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 House already approved the measure, but because amendments were added in the Senate, the House will have to take one final reconciliation vote before sending the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Many Democrats opposed the bill because they claimed it violates due process laws by applying mandatory detention statutes on people who are only charged with, and not convicted of, committing crimes.
U.S. immigration law already requires that migrants illegally entering the United States be detained and usually deported, even if they are not charged with additional crimes. ICE has not always been able to enforce the law in recent years due to certain immigration parole and sanctuary policies of the Biden administration.
Some Democrats also objected to the lack of exceptions for minors, as well as the anticipated strain on Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detention facilities.
“Existing law gives ICE discretion to detain undocumented immigrants on a case-by-case basis. ICE assesses each case individually, so the agency’s limited resources are used effectively to protect our national security and public safety,” said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
“But the Laken Riley Act, as currently written, would eliminate ICE’s discretion to prioritize the detention and deportation of dangerous individuals.”
Analysts have warned the Laken Riley Act may be tough to implement. ICE has said it will need millions more in funding and tens of thousands more detention beds in order to implement the legislation, according to a December 2024 memo obtained by Politico.
