More Senate Democrats have indicated they plan to vote to advance the Laken Riley Act in a procedural vote this Friday.
The bill — which is named for the Georgia nursing student who was killed by an immigrant from Venezuela who crossed the border illegally — cleared the House on Tuesday with support from all Republicans and 48 Democrats. It was House Republicans first bill of the 119th Congress.
A small handful of Democrats in the Senate had already signaled their support for the legislation – including Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation, and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who said he plans to vote for the measure.
More Democrats now say they will do the same, including Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).
A spokesperson for Kelly said the senator "looks forward to working with Republicans and Democrats on it and other solutions to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system."
"Senator Rosen will always support legislation to keep Nevadans safe. She believes if someone commits a crime, they should be held accountable,” Rosen’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Other Democrats have indicated an openness toward supporting the bill, with a handful now saying they will support a procedural vote to begin debate this coming Friday.
A spokesperson for Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said the senator is “interested in voting to proceed to the bill to amend it. But he does not support the Laken Riley Act in its current form.”
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with the Democrats, is “likely to open debate through the procedural vote later this week,” according to his spokesperson.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) said he is planning to vote to open debate on the bill and would see where the process goes from there, his spokesperson confirmed, referring The Hill to a statement he made to CNN.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told CNN she was reviewing legislation but was “inclined” to support the bill, while Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told CNN she was reviewing the legislation.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) told Politico that she would support opening debate on the legislation but added, “I have real concerns about it, not the least of which is it's an unfunded mandate.”
The bill requires detention of a broad swath of migrants, including those permitted to enter the U.S. to seek asylum, if they have been accused of theft, burglary or shoplifting. The person convicted of killing Laken Riley was arrested for shoplifting ahead of the attack and paroled in the U.S.
But the bill has sparked concern among immigration advocates because it requires detention of immigrants as soon as they are charged or arrested for those crimes — not when prosecutors have secured a conviction.
The legislation also allows state attorneys general to sue to enforce the law — a move that comes after courts have largely fought state efforts to intervene in immigration enforcement matters.
Al Weaver contributed.
