WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate aims to pass a bill to combat illegal immigration in the coming days, hoping to send it to new President Donald Trump next week, which would be his first legislative victory.
But Senate debate on the bill dragged on this week, with two main obstacles still standing in the way of passage of the Laken Riley Act, which would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain people charged, arrested or convicted for committing acts of “burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting”.
The first hurdle is getting 60 votes in the Senate to break a filibuster and end debate, which means winning at least seven Democratic votes — or more if they vote while there is an empty seat in Florida or in Ohio. That could depend on whether Republicans allow more amendments, which leaders are selective about, as they aim for a vote on final adoption by Monday.
“Some Democrats are trying to undermine the bill,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told NBC News. “Republicans will not undermine or weaken this life-saving bill. »
The second hurdle is sending the amended version back to the House for another vote after the Senate voted 70-25 to pass an amendment from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to add assault of a law enforcement officer from the order to the list of offenses committed. an irregular immigrant who triggers mandatory detention. The GOP-led House passed the original bill last week by a vote of 264 to 159, with the support of 48 Democrats.
Republicans also hope to pass an amendment from Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, requiring ICE officials to detain undocumented migrants arrested or accused of causing death or bodily harm.
The new amendments would also increase the final price tag of the bill.
In an assessment of ICE to Congress last year, officials predicted that the Laken Riley Act — named after a Georgia nursing school student who was murdered last year by an immigrant undocumented – would cost $3.2 billion to enforce. But Democrats reversed course and, working with ICE officials, estimated a cost of $83 billion over the first three years alone, according to a document obtained from a Democratic source.
“Beyond the exorbitant costs, (the Department of Homeland Security) would not be able to comply with the terms as written. The staffing, detention space, and transportation requirements to execute the bill are not feasible in the near future,” the document states.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who introduced the Senate bill, accused Democrats of “using a projection of 800,000 criminal illegal aliens who would be affected by this bill in the first year ”, what they call an “old” projection based on a March 2024 briefing with ICE officials.
“We are prepared to give ICE the resources it needs to properly enforce federal law and protect American families, both through appropriations and reconciliation processes,” she said, referring to two potential avenues for obtaining additional funding.
In a move fueled by the rightward shift in immigration policy, many Democrats in competitive House districts voted for the legislation and some senators in swing states, such as Sen. Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, and John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, voted for the bill. co-sponsored it.
But while many Democratic senators voted to begin debate on the bill, some said they would not support final passage unless the Senate adopts certain amendments to the bill, like Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. It is not yet known whether he will ultimately obtain 60 votes.
Even some supporters of the bill say it could be improved: Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan, told NBC News that it should be changed to avoid targeting migrants who are simply charged — rather than convicted – of crimes. She also called for excluding “Dreamers,” or undocumented people brought to the country as children.
Democrats are pushing Republicans to vote on additional amendments, but it is far from certain they will get any.
Pro-immigration activists called the bill a conservative Trojan horse aimed at upending the system, removing due process for migrants and empowering the most radical state officials, like the Texas attorney general , Ken Paxton, the power to reshape federal immigration enforcement.
“It’s hard to overstate how much Democratic leadership is struggling right now,” said Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of the progressive group Indivisible. “Republicans are going to do this over and over again. They’re going to introduce something in the form of a messaging bill, where they’re going to dismantle constitutional protections and empower extremism. Democrats need to stop scoring political points for him.”
They point to a provision of the Laken Riley Act that would allow state attorneys general to sue the federal government for allegedly failing to enforce immigration law “if the State or its residents suffer harm, including harm financial institution exceeding 100 dollars.
An amendment proposed by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., to remove that language failed Wednesday, with Republicans rejecting it in a 46-49 vote.
If Democrats don’t get any of the requested changes, they will be forced to decide whether to accept the bill anyway — or filibuster it before it finally passes.
“The Republicans seem to have decided that they don’t want to improve the bill,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut.
