The Senate on Friday voted 61-35 to break the filibuster and end debate on the Laken Riley Act, advancing a contentious bill that would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain and potentially deport undocumented immigrants arrested for — but not necessarily convicted of — various crimes, including burglary, shoplifting and theft. The bill would also empower state attorneys general to sue the federal government over immigration-related decisions and block visas being issued to citizens of certain countries.
Ten Democrats voted to invoke cloture, aiding Republicans in their hope of delivering soon-to-be President Donald Trump his first legislative victory next week. Four Senators, including Vice-President-elect JD Vance, who resigned from office last week, and cosponsor Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., did not vote. Friday's vote offers a glimpse at the likely partisan breakdown of the bill's final passage, which is slated for Jan. 20, the day Trump takes office.
According to the Senate Periodical Press Gallery, senators who voted to invoke cloture include: Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; John Kelly, D-Ariz.; Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.; Gary Peters, D-Mich.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; and Mark Warner, D-Va.
In remarks ahead of Friday's cloture vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would revoke his prior support for allowing the bill to proceed, citing Republicans' inability to agree to amendments Democratic officials filed that would address its "deficiencies."
"We told Republicans we wanted to have a serious and productive and fruitful debate on this legislation with the chance to vote on amendments to modify the bill," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Democrats filed many amendments to the bill, but unfortunately, our Republican colleagues and the Republican leader didn't reach an agreement with us."
Critics of the measure say it will further empower Trump to pursue his agenda of mass deportations at a significant cost, the bill alone potentially requiring a massive increase in ICE's detention capacity.
Given that some Democrats, like Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said they would not back final passage unless the Senate adopted some amendments to the bill, it was initially unclear whether Friday's vote would garner enough support to end debate. The Senate needed to secure 60 votes to invoke cloture.
On Wednesday, with significant Democratic support, the Senate passed an amendment to the bill 70-25 that would also require ICE to detain any undocumented immigrant accused of assaulting a law enforcement officer. Another amendment, proposed by Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, Del., would have stricken the section of the bill that empowered state attorneys general to sue the federal government over detention policy. That amendment was voted down along party lines, 46-49.
The Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia college student who was murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant who had previously been arrested and paroled for shoplifting, passed the House last week with 48 Democratic votes. Should the bill pass the Senate, it will return to the House for another vote.
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