Full List of Democrats Who Voted To Pass Laken Riley Act

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amended version of the Laken Riley Act on Wednesday with a vote of 263-156, setting the stage for significant immigration reform at the outset of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Forty-six Democrats crossed party lines and joined Republicans in voting to pass the bill.

Why It Matters

The legislation, named after a Georgia student who was killed by an undocumented immigrant, requires undocumented immigrants arrested for theft or violent crimes to be held in jail pending trial.

The bill is one of the Republicans’ first acts in the new Congress and demonstrates the party’s commitment to advancing Trump’s hardline immigration agenda.

What To Know

On February 22, 2024, Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia, went missing after going for a run. Her body was later found in a wooded area near the University of Georgia’s Athens campus.

In November, 26-year-old Venezuelan national José Ibarra was convicted of her murder. During the trial, Ibarra was reported to have ties to the Tren de Aragua gang.

The Laken Riley Act, labeled as H.R. 29, was originally introduced by Republican Alabama Senator Katie Britt during the previous congressional session. While it passed in the House, it stood little chance of moving forward in the Senate, which was under Democratic control at the time. Liberal Democrats criticized the bill as unfair on suspects who not yet found guilty of a crime.

On January 6, the first day of the newly GOP-led Congress, Georgia Republican Representative Mike Collins reintroduced the bill. The bill will now head to Trump’s desk, becoming the first piece of legislation he signs into law during his second term.

The revised bill mandates ICE to detain undocumented immigrants charged with violent or theft-related offenses and includes amendments from Texas Senator John Cornyn and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst broadening the range of crimes that trigger detention.

The legislation mandates immigration enforcement officers to detain undocumented immigrants suspected of some minor offenses, such as shoplifting. It also empowers attorneys general to sue the federal government if they can demonstrate that their states are being negatively impacted by the failure to enforce national immigration policies. Additionally, it allows states to file lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security for harm allegedly caused to citizens resulting from illegal immigration.

Cornyn’s amendment, which adds assault of a law enforcement officer to the list of crimes that would mandate detention of an undocumented migrant, passed with substantial Democratic support, 70-25.

The bill initially passed the House on January 7 with a vote of 264-159, as 48 Democrats joined the GOP in supporting it. The amended version later cleared the Senate on Tuesday, marking the first bill to pass in the chamber this session. It was approved with a vote of 64-35, including support from 12 Democrats, sending the revised legislation back to the House for final approval.

According to documents obtained by ABC News, ICE estimates the bill will cost close to $27 billion to enforce in its first year.

What People Are Saying

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on the house floor: “In this bill, if a person is so much as accused of a crime, if someone wants to point a finger and accuse someone of shoplifting, they will be rounded up and put into a private detention camp and signed and sent out for deportation without a day in court, without a moment to assert their right and without a moment to assert the privilege of innocent until proven guilty without being found guilty of a crime that will be rounded up. That is what is inside this bill, a fundamental suspension of a core American value, and that is why I rise to oppose it. If you’re a DREAMer, all someone has to do is point a finger and you will be rounded up.”

Alabama Senator Katie Britt said Wednesday: “We’re putting the safety and security of Americans first with this commonsense piece of legislation, so it’s a big deal.

“Whether it’s from fentanyl overdoses or whether it is the tragedy that occurred to Laken Riley or Rachel Morin or Jocelyn Nungaray or its countless number of people—today, we said we hear you to the American people.”

Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, said on the Senate floor: “Illegal migrants shouldn’t be here in the first place.

“Everybody knows that it is against the law to enter the United States without our permission. Even so, if they come here violating our law, they hurt and kill an American, the federal government must prioritize their detention and deportation.”

Immigration attorney Anthony Enriquez told Newsweek: “Current immigration detention law already grants officials sweeping authority to arrest anyone they suspect lacks immigration status and to imprison them thousands of miles away in isolated jails in remote parts of the country. It also already makes detention mandatory for people seeking asylum at the border or for people convicted of certain minor theft offenses. The man convicted of Laken Riley’s murder would already have fallen under current mandatory provisions. So even if the bill had been enacted prior to her death, it wouldn’t have provided additional protection.”

Alvaro M. Huerta, Director of Litigation and Advocacy at ImmDef, a non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California told Newsweek: “Congress is rolling out the red carpet for an already emboldened anti-immigrant administration, giving the president more tools to criminalize, detain and deport massive amounts of people while denying them their due process rights.

“Perhaps the worst part is that this was accomplished with the support of dozens of Democrats who have abandoned immigrant communities for the sake of political expediency. For shame.”

Margaret Cargioli, Directing Attorney, Policy, and Advocacy, at ImmDef told Newsweek: “The passage of the Laken Riley Act is shameful sign that immigrants are finding fewer champions in the halls of Congress. At a time when the Trump administration is orchestrating a clear abuse of power under the guise of some purported ‘invasion,’ we need Congress to defend immigrants’ due process rights, not disregard fundamental fairness. We also need Congress to protect children, not sacrifice them to the whims of an anti-immigrant administration. The continued vilification of immigrants only serves to harm American families, communities, and our economy.”

What Happens Next

The bill will head to Trump’s desk where it will be signed into law.