The House on Wednesday afternoon passed a bill that would mandate the detention of more undocumented immigrants charged with crimes, sending the first legislation of the new Congress to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Forty-six Democrats voted for the bill along with all Republicans, after the Senate passed the Laken Riley Act with notable bipartisan support on Friday.
House GOP leaders took up an earlier version of the measure quickly after the GOP-controlled Congress was sworn in, looking to deliver on campaign promises to prioritize cracking down on illegal immigration and strengthening the border. Democrats have been grappling with how to respond to GOP attacks on immigration after their setbacks in the election. Hispanic Democratic lawmakers met on Wednesday ahead of the vote to discuss a strategy on immigration issues.
The bill, which was named after a 22-year-old woman killed by an undocumented immigrant in Georgia last year, also allows state governments to sue the federal government over certain immigration decisions and “alleged failures.”
The passage vote comes the same day Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, joined a meeting with Senate Republicans to brief them on Trump’s executive orders concerning immigration. Miller discussed deporting immigrants with violent criminal records and made a pitch for more border funding, likely through the budget reconciliation process. Republicans are planning to use reconciliation to pass several immigration priorities along party lines.
