Donald Trump is set to notch his first big legislative win quickly after being sworn in as the nation’s 47th president — and he has Democrats to thank for it.
The Senate voted 61-35 on Friday to advance a major immigration bill aiming to crack down on immigrants lacking permanent legal status who commit crimes. A final vote on passage is expected after Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Republican senators were joined by 10 Democrats in breaking a filibuster of the Laken Riley Act — more evidence of their party moving rightward on immigration in the wake of stinging losses in the 2024 elections.
The legislation would require the federal detention of undocumented immigrants charged with crimes like theft and burglary — even if an accusation is ultimately proved false and no conviction is obtained. Critics say it would erode rights to due process for undocumented immigrants, including those brought to the U.S. as children, and increase their chances of deportation.
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The bill would go even further, however, by allowing state attorneys general to sue the federal government if they can show that their states are being harmed by a failure to implement national immigration policies. Opponents say that provision would unleash chaos in the nation’s immigration system by giving states unprecedented power in shaping federal policy.
The measure is named for a nursing student from Georgia who was murdered by a migrant from Venezuela who was on parole. Trump met with the student’s family on the 2024 campaign trail and vowed to sign legislation toughening penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency tasked with enforcing immigration law, told lawmakers that the bill would require the detention of more than 100,000 additional immigrants, costing over $26 billion. An analysis by Democrats said the legislation would cost significantly more — $83 billion over the first three years — as a result of increased resource needs, including around staffing and facilities.
Senate Republicans dismissed the latter estimate as unrealistic while at the same time vowing to appropriate any funds that ICE may need to enforce the law. Conservatives in the House may yet raise flags about the spending before approving the bill and sending it to the White House.
Democrats’ rightward shift on immigration, an issue that hurt them in the 2024 election, has been brewing for some time. Last year, for example, their party helped write bipartisan legislation significantly strengthening enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border, over the objections of progressives and immigration advocates.
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The party’s bitter losses in November — Republicans now control a trifecta in Washington — accelerated that shift, and more Democrats are echoing the GOP on issues like crime and immigration.
“Public safety is incredibly important to me, important to my constituents,” Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat who voted for the Laken Riley Act, told HuffPost. “This issue, you know, because we’re a border state, has a big impact on us.”
Even Democrats who opposed the bill acknowledged that their party is struggling with the politics of immigration right now.
“It’s a tough issue,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a longtime advocate of comprehensive immigration reform.
Democrats’ approach to Trump now couldn’t be more different from their posture in 2017 after he was sworn in as president for the first time. The political movement that opposed him, often called the “resistance,” was buoyed by a wave of anti-Trump sentiment around the country, culminating in large marches of thousands of people in Washington that appealed to marginalized groups such as minorities and women. Democratic lawmakers responded in kind, opposing nearly all of Trump’s agenda and denying him early legislative wins in Congress.
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Things are set to be different this time around. Trump will be welcomed at his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol — the site of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection — with his net favorability rating at or near its highest point since ABC News’ 538 began tracking the figure four years ago, according to the poll aggregator. Many business and tech CEOs are expected to attend and sit prominently near Trump on the inaugural platform.
“I think the Nov. 5 election maybe helped them realize that they were out of step with the American people, particularly when it comes to the border and public safety,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said of Democrats’ shift toward Trump.
But the Laken Riley Act is only one of the bills that Republicans have teed up for passage in this Congress. On Thursday, the House passed a bill that would mandate deportation and block entry into the United States for migrants lacking permanent legal status who are convicted of or admit to sex crimes or domestic violence; dozens of Democrats voted for the legislation. And earlier this week, the chamber passed a bill aimed at preventing transgender girls and women from competing in school sports, garnering the support of a couple of Democrats.
That signals the possibility of some uncomfortable votes for Senate Democrats on the horizon.
“We can’t let Republicans set the terms,” warned Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), an architect of last year’s bipartisan immigration deal who opposed the Laken Riley Act. “We should lead and be really loud in communicating how insincere the Republicans are on border security.”
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Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), another opponent of the bill, said that Democrats helping Trump notch an early win isn’t a good sign for the coming debates over his agenda.
“What are we going to do? We’re going to detain 10-year-olds who steal a pack of gum? Are we going to start not providing any kind of ability for domestic violence victims not to be detained?” Hirono asked.
“If this is the indication of what they want to do, it does not bode well,” the senator added.
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