Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House passed legislation Wednesday to require federal authorities to detain people who are in the country illegally and accused of stealing, assaulting law enforcement officers or committing other violent crimes.
Now headed to President Donald Trump, the bill’s swift passage and bipartisan support reflect a changed Washington political landscape after Republicans took control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.
The 263-156 vote included support from 46 Democrats, including two Texans, Reps. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen and Henry Cuellar of Laredo. No Republicans voted against the bill.
Supporters hailed the bill as a long-overdue, common-sense measure intended to lock up and remove criminals who should not be in the country. The bill was named for Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student murdered by an undocumented immigrant while out for a run.
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Supporters said if the legislation had been in place, Riley would still be alive. They also highlighted others killed by people in the country illegally, including Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl killed last summer in Houston.
Two Venezuelan immigrants, who authorities say were in the country illegally, were charged with her murder.
“The Laken Riley Act should have been the easiest vote Democrats take this entire Congress,” said U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound. “This merely directs DHS to detain illegal aliens who are burglarizing American citizens on American territory, and yet a majority of them voted against it.”
It was the second time this month the House approved the bill. The second vote was needed because of amendments added by the Senate, where it passed Monday 64-35.
A successful amendment by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, added assault of law enforcement officers to the list of covered crimes.
“Anyone who comes into the country illegally and harms these brave men and women in uniform is dangerous, and dangerous not only to our first responders, but also to the safety and security of all Texans and communities all around the country,” Cornyn said.
The bill requires detention of anyone who is in the country illegally and “is charged with, is arrested for, is convicted of, admits having committed, or admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of any burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, or assault of a law enforcement officer offense, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person.”
The bill comes as Trump moves to deliver on campaign pledges to crack down on illegal immigration, including executive orders aimed at halting unauthorized border crossings and kicking off large-scale deportations.
Critics questioned the purpose of the bill, saying anyone in the country illegally who is convicted of a serious crime faces detention and deportation under current law.
“If you’re undocumented and you’re convicted of a serious crime, you are held accountable, incarcerated and deported,” said U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin. “All that’s in the bill, beyond current law, is arresting, detaining and deporting people that haven’t been convicted of something, but maybe have been charged or accused of something like shoplifting.”
Casar said it will cost billions of dollars to enforce — money he said would be better spent on other priorities, such as hiring more firefighters or lowering taxes.
Immigrant rights groups and other critics said targeting people accused of crimes but not convicted would violate their right to due process. They described the legislation as part of a broader effort to demonize undocumented immigrants.
Another key criticism of the bill revolved around provisions allowing states to sue the federal government for immigration enforcement failures.
That language prompted some critics to dub the bill the “Ken Paxton Empowerment Act,” highlighting the Texas attorney general’s many immigration-related legal fights with former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, posted on social media that the bill would enable Paxton or other attorneys general to get court orders requiring the State Department to block all visas for particular countries.
“It could cause diplomatic chaos with huge international ramifications,” he wrote.
Zachary Mueller, senior research director of America’s Voice, said under current law if a country refuses to accept a deported national, the U.S. attorney general can tell the secretary of state to stop issuing visas to that country.
“The Laken Riley Act creates state enforcement via the federal courts for this,” he said in an online post.
Paxton did not respond to a request for comment. He released a statement earlier this week welcoming the change of administrations and hailing Trump’s border policies. Paxton said he filed 106 legal actions during Biden’s four years in office.
Joseph Morton covers the intersection of business and politics in the Washington Bureau. Before joining The News, Joseph worked for CQ Roll Call and the Omaha World-Herald. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
