WASHINGTON— The US House of Representatives on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that requires the detention of migrants who are in the country without permission and who have been accused of theft and violent crimes, the first measure that President Donald Trump can enact it, after Congress—with some bipartisan support—moved quickly in line with the president’s plans to toughen measures against illegal immigration. The passage of the Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan, shows how dramatically the political debate over immigration has shifted to the right following Trump’s election victory. . Immigration policy has often been one of the most entrenched issues in Congress, but a crucial group of 46 politically vulnerable Democrats joined Republicans to pass the strict proposal by a vote count of 263 in favor and 156 against. . “For decades, it has been nearly impossible for our government to agree on solutions to problems at our border and within our country,” said Republican Senator Katie Britt. He noted that it is likely to be the “most significant immigration bill” that Congress has passed in nearly three decades. However, the bill will require a massive increase in the capabilities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but does not include any new funding. Meanwhile, the new president has issued a series of executive orders aimed at sealing the border with Mexico to immigration and ultimately deporting millions of migrants who lack permanent legal status in the United States. On Wednesday, Trump also canceled refugee resettlement and his administration has said it intends to prosecute local law enforcement officials who do not comply with his new immigration policies. Republican congressional leaders have made clear that they intend to follow the same path, although their biggest challenge will be finding a way to approve funding to actually implement Trump’s strict plans. “What he’s doing is starting what will ultimately be our legislative agenda,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson. House Republicans initially passed the legislation last year with the support of 37 Democrats in a move intended as a political rebuke to then-President Joe Biden’s handling of the southern border. He then languished in the Democratic-controlled Senate. This year, Republicans, now in control of both houses of Congress, have made this their top priority. When it came before the Senate, 12 Democrats voted in favor of the measure, and when the House voted on a version of the bill earlier this month, 48 Democrats supported it. A majority of adults in the United States favor deporting immigrants convicted of violent crimes, according to a recent poll by the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and The Associated Press. However, only about 37% of U.S. adults favor deporting migrants in the country illegally who have not been convicted of a crime. “While the bill is not perfect, it sends a clear message that we think criminals should be deported,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi, a New York Democrat who has urged his party to support stricter enforcement of the law. immigration law. Under the bill, federal authorities would be required to detain any migrant arrested or charged with crimes such as shoplifting. The scope of the proposal was expanded in the Senate to also include those accused of assaulting a police officer or crimes that injure or cause the death of someone. The bill also gives state attorneys general standing to sue the federal government for damages caused by federal immigration decisions. This gives states new power in immigration policy when they have already been trying to counter presidential decisions under the Trump and Biden administrations. Democrats unsuccessfully tried to have that provision removed from the bill in the Senate, saying it would inject even more uncertainty and partisanship into immigration policy. Ultimately, even the Trump administration will likely struggle to implement the new requirements unless Congress follows up later this year with funding. Republicans are currently planning how to push their priorities through Congress through a party-line process known as budget reconciliation. They have estimated the cost of funding Trump’s border and deportation priorities at approximately $100 billion. Trump has “established the largest domestic logistics undertaking of our lifetimes, which is the deportation of the majority of aliens who are in the United States illegally,” said Ken Cuccinelli, who led U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Trump’s first term, to a Senate panel recently. Cuccinelli noted that it would require an increase in immigration judges, prosecutors and other staff, but Trump has also paved the way for using military assets, bases and other resources to carry out mass deportations. The Department of Homeland Security has estimated that the Laken Riley Act would cost $26.9 billion in the first year to implement, including an increase of 110,000 ICE detention beds. Most Democrats criticized the lack of funding in the bill as evidence that it is a piecemeal approach that would do little to fix problems in the immigration system but would burden federal authorities with new requirements. “The authors of the bill stated that it would result in the arrest and detention of dangerous criminals, but it will not because it is a completely unfunded mandate,” said Democratic Senator Chris Murphy. Others expressed concerns that the bill would deprive migrants, including minors or beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, of due process rights. Senator Alex Padilla said federal authorities would now be forced to prioritize detaining migrants arrested for minor crimes such as shoplifting, rather than those who commit serious crimes. Overall, there is no evidence that migrants are more likely to commit violent crimes. Several studies have found that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than those born in the United States. Groups that advocate for restrictive immigration policies dispute or dismiss those findings. But Republicans pointed to the bill’s namesake, Laken Riley, and how she was murdered by a Venezuelan migrant who had previously been arrested by local authorities but released while … Read more
