Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego says he will co-sponsor the bill.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has joined a number of other Democrats in supporting legislation that would crack down on illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the United States.
“Not only am I voting yes on the Laken Riley Act, I’m co-sponsoring the bill,” Gallego wrote in a Jan. 8 statement on X.
“Arizonans know better than most the real consequences of today’s border crisis. We must give law enforcement the means to take action to prevent tragedies like what occurred to Laken Riley.”
The Laken Riley Act is named after a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed last February while jogging on the University of Georgia campus. Illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, 26, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in November.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is a cosponsor of the legislation, and Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) have already said they will vote to bring the measure to the floor.
The act would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants if they are arrested for crimes such as theft, burglary, or shoplifting. It would also allow states to sue the federal government over certain aspects of immigration policy, such as failing due diligence in background checks for would-be immigrants.
The bill passed in the House on Jan. 7, 264–159, with all Republicans and 48 Democrats voting in favor. It was the first piece of legislation passed by the 119th Congress.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said during a press conference on Jan. 7 that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is making the bill a priority and intends to bring it to the Senate floor by the end of the week.
With a 53–47 majority in the upper chamber, the GOP has the votes to pass the bill. However, it will require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in order to bring the bill to the Senate floor.
The Democratic lawmakers’ statements signal that Democrat support for the bill may be coming together ahead of a possible Jan. 10 vote.
The act passed the House last year, too, with the support of more than 30 Democrats. However, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declined to bring it to the floor for a vote.
Before being elected to the Senate, Gallego served in the House and was one of the Democrats who voted for the bill last year.
Some oppose the legislation.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) criticized the act during the floor debate as an “empty and opportunistic measure,” suggesting it could punish otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants.
“Under this bill, a person who lived in the United States for decades, saved for most of her life, paid taxes, and bought a home, but who was mistakenly arrested for shoplifting would not be free to resume her life, but rather would be detained and deported, even if the charges are dropped and even if the police admit that the arrest was mistaken,” Raskin said.
He also opposed the second stipulation of the bill, noting that the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Texas that states cannot sue the federal government over immigration policy without an actual change to the law.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) countered that the act intends to do just that.