The Senate cleared the filibuster to advance the Laken Riley Act, putting the bill one step closer to being signed by President Trump after he takes office.
Senators voted 61-35 to end debate on the legislation, with 10 Democrats joining every Republican.
Senate breaks filibuster on Laken Riley Act, 61-35.
The bill would mandate the deportation of any illegal alien found guilty of crimes, from homicide to shoplifting. It is the first immigration bill in decades to be passed without an amnesty amendment.
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From The Hill:
Democrats who voted “aye” were Sens. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Mark Warner (Va.) and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.). Gallego and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who did not vote, were co-sponsors of the legislation.
The vote tees up final passage of the immigration-related bill in the upper chamber early next week. It will need to head to the House for approval once again before Trump can sign it.
The legislation would mandate federal detention of immigrants without legal status who are accused of theft, burglary and assaulting a law enforcement officer, among other things.
“This bill is a small but critical step to resolving the Biden border crisis — the first of many I might add,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on the floor Friday morning ahead of the vote.
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The bill would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.
The legislation also authorizes states to sue the federal government for failing to enforce immigration law.
The measure is named after Laken Riley, the 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who was found dead on the University of Georgia’s campus.
26-year-old Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Riley.
BREAKING: The U.S. Senate has voted 61-35 to advance the Laken Riley Act.
A final vote is expected on Monday. pic.twitter.com/nW2lOJPSNQ
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Per Axios:
It's a specific, popular, bipartisan bill. But it also hands Thune a chance to prove he's serious about promises made during the GOP leadership election.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told Axios: "What we can feel good about is we're having a lot more conversations about what we're doing." Scott ran against Thune for leader.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told Axios that Thune "says what he means and means what he says when he talks about having a more open amendment process." Lee wants a more open process and backed Scott in November.
ADVERTISEMENTThune spent days haggling with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the bill, which requires ICE to detain immigrants charged with or convicted of theft.
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