Laken Riley Act Passes Senate, Returns to the House of Representatives as Immigration Agenda Picks Up Steam

FAIR Take | January 2025
On Monday evening, the Senate voted to pass the Laken Riley Act (S. 5) by a vote of 64-35. All Republicans voted in favor of the bill and 12 Democrats voted in support. The bill’s passage marked a rare instance in recent years where Senate Democrats have allowed immigration legislation to advance that did not include amnesty or the expansion of legal immigration. The bill will next move to the House of Representatives, which passed its own version of the bill earlier this month.
Senate passage of the Laken Riley Act comes just two weeks after the House passed an almost identical bill by a margin of 264-159, including 48 Democrats who voted in favor of it. If enacted into law, the legislation will expand mandatory detention for certain criminal aliens, such as Laken Riley’s murderer, and provide state attorneys general with legal standing to sue the federal government for not enforcing our immigration laws. Specifically, the bill as written:
- Requires the detention of inadmissible aliens for theft-related crimes;
- Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary to issue detainers for those aliens and transfer from local law enforcement into ICE’s custody; and
- Grants state officials with legal standing to sue the federal government due to harm inflicted on their states or citizens from the failure to enforce our immigration laws, including failing to detain and remove illegal aliens and illegally granting parole.
Following debate, Senators adopted two important amendments to the bill. First, the Senate adopted an amendment that added key provisions from Sarah’s Law requiring DHS to issue detainers and take into custody aliens who are charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admit to having committed crimes that resulted in death or serious bodily injury. That amendment, led by Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and cosponsored by Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), passed by a vote of 75-24 with all Republicans and 22 Democrats voting in favor. FAIR supported the Ernst Amendment.
Second, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) that requires ICE to issue detainers and detain inadmissible aliens who assault law enforcement officers. That amendment was passed by a vote of 70-25. FAIR also supported the Cornyn Amendment.
Senate passage of the Laken Riley Act comes just days after Senate leaders mustered up enough support to end debate on the bill (often called a filibuster vote) which requires 60 votes to pass. In a rare show of bipartisan support, last Friday the Senate voted 61-35 to end debate on the Laken Riley Act, with all Republicans present and ten Democrats voting in favor. The Democrats who voted to end debate include Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), and Mark Warner (Va.). Democratic Senators Chris Coons (Del.) and John Fetterman, who was a cosponsor of the bill, did not vote.
The final vote on the Laken Riley Act in the Senate was 64-35. Democrats voting for the measure included: Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), John Fetterman (Pa.), and Mark Warner (Va.).
Response to the bill passing was positive, with a vote expected in the House of Representatives as soon as this week. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said, “I am proud the Laken Riley Act will be the very first landmark bill President Trump signs into law, and it is proof that President Trump and the Republican Senate Majority stand ready to come turn promises made into promises kept. Together, we will secure our southern border, protect American families and communities, and return to law and order.” Allyson and John Phillips, Laken Riley’s mother and stepfather, said in a joint statement: “This is a truly momentous day. The Senate’s passage of this purely commonsense bill will help save innocent lives and prevent more families from going through the kind of heartbreak we’ve experienced. There is no greater gift imaginable to Laken and our country.”
While passage of the Laken Riley Act is a rare instance in which Senate Democrats have supported an immigration bill that does not include amnesty or expand legal immigration, it is only the first in a series of immigration bills that the House will move in the coming weeks. Those bills include 1) a bill to limit federal grant funding to sanctuary jurisdictions providing benefits to illegal aliens; 2) a bill to impose criminal and immigration penalties for fleeing from federal officers in a motor vehicle; and 3) a bill to amend the National Voter Registration Act to require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Last Thursday, the House also passed H.R. 30, the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, from Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). That bill passed by a margin of 274-145, including 61 Democrats, and would make aliens convicted of sex offenses inadmissible and deportable.
Beyond these bills, congressional Republicans hope to quickly pass border security funding through the reconciliation process, which circumvents the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate, and pass crucial reforms to end catch-and-release policies, reform our asylum laws, and stop parole abuse. In that regard, the most important bill for truly effective, long-term statutory reforms is H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, which must remain a priority to ensure that our borders and immigration laws cannot be again abused as the Biden administration did. While the enactment of the Laken Riley Act would certainly demonstrate welcome progress, it is only the first step to securing our borders and restoring the rule of law within our nation.
To read FAIR’s Legislative Agenda for the 119th Congress, click here.
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