U.S. House Republicans kick off new session with border security push

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed its first bill of the 119th Congress Tuesday, a measure that increases migrant detention and is named after a Georgia nursing student whose murder President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly tied to the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said during a Tuesday press conference that “as promised, we’re starting today with border security.”

“If you polled the populace and the voters, they would tell you that that was the top of the list, and we have a lot to do there to fix it,” the Louisiana Republican said. “It’s an absolute disaster because of what has happened over the last four years, and the Laken Riley Act is a big part of that.”

Riley, 22, was out on a run when her roommates became concerned after she did not return home. Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela, was convicted of her murder last month. According to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Ibarra allegedly entered the country illegally in 2022.

The bill, H.R. 29, passed 264-159, with 48 Democrats joining Republicans. The measure also passed the House on a bipartisan basis last Congress, with 37 Democrats voting with the GOP.

It stalled in the Senate when then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, did not bring it to the floor for a vote.

That will likely change now. Republicans who now control the Senate are expected to possibly bring up the bill this week. Alabama’s Sen. Katie Britt is the lead sponsor in that chamber of the companion to the House bill, S. 5.

The Senate version has already gained bipartisan support, with the backing of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman.

Additionally, Michigan’s Democratic Sen. Gary Peters said he would support the bill if it’s brought to a vote in the Senate.

“We gotta make sure that we’re doing everything we can to secure the border, and keep people safe in our country,” he said in an interview with States Newsroom.

If the bill advances past the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, it’s likely to be signed into law sometime after Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20. But it’s not yet clear how many Democrats will join Republicans in backing it.

DHS detention, AG lawsuits

Ibarra, the man convicted of Riley’s murder, was previously arrested for driving a scooter without a license and for shoplifting. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain any immigrants — even those with legal status — charged with local theft, burglary or shoplifting.

It would also allow the attorney general of a state to bring civil lawsuits against the federal government for violating a detention or removal proceeding “that harms such State or its residents.”

Rep. Mike Collins, who sponsored the bill, represents the district where Riley’s family lives.

“This legislation could have prevented her death,” the Georgia Republican said Tuesday. “We gotta make sure that this doesn’t ever happen again.”

During the debate, Collins read a statement from the Riley family in which they said they support the legislation.

“Laken would have been 23 on January the 10th,” Collins read from the statement. “There is no greater gift that could be given to her or our country than to continue her legacy by saving lives through this bill.”

‘Empty and opportunistic’

Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin criticized the measure and argued that if it were to become law, it would raise questions about due process because the measure would require immigration detention on the basis of a charge or arrest.

“Their bill today is an empty and opportunistic measure,” Raskin said during Tuesday’s debate.

“This bill would upend 28 years of mandatory immigration detention policy by requiring that any undocumented immigrant arrested for theft, larceny or shoplifting be detained, even if they are never convicted or even charged with a crime.”

Washington Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the bill does not fix the U.S. immigration system.

“In the process it unfairly sweeps up many more innocent lives with no due process,” she said.

Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.

Virginia representatives’ votes

The Virginia congressional delegation’s votes on the measure were a mixed bag, with five representatives voting no to the bill and six voting to advance it.

Most of the yea votes came from Republican legislators, but U.S. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, serving his first term representing Virginia’s 10th District on Capitol Hill, was the lone Democrat to join five Virginia Republicans in voting to pass the bill.

U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman, another new congressman representing Virginia’s 7th congressional district, was one of five Democratic representatives who voted against the measure.

“As an immigrant and a prosecutor, there is nothing more important to me than ensuring we remain a country that welcomes immigrants while also protecting our communities. If this bill becomes law, I am worried the scope is so broad it will be weaponized to detain and deport immigrants who are here on temporary status including refugees,” Vindman said in a statement after the vote.

Here’s how Virginia representatives voted: