Semafor’s Burgess Everett posted on X that two sources said the Senate has enough Democrats to start a debate on the Laken Riley Act.
Senate Republicans need at least eight Democrats to vote with “them in a procedural vote on Friday.”
The legislation, named after Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley, would mandate the government “detaining” illegal aliens “charged with theft or burglary.”
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found illegal alien Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, guilty of murdering Riley.
According to Fox News, the NYPD arrested Ibarra “a year after he entered the U.S. in August 2023 and was ‘charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.'”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) cosponsored the bill on Tuesday. He said:
Laken Riley’s story is a tragic reminder of what’s at stake when our systems fail to protect people. No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to preventable violence. Immigration is what makes our country great. I support giving authorities the tools to prevent tragedies like this one while we work on comprehensive solutions to our broken system.
He explained on Fox News that if the bill did not get enough Democrats on board just to debate it, “that’s the reason why” the party lost in 2024.
The Republican-led House passed the Act on Tuesday with 48 Democrats voting yes.
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