Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., on Wednesday reportedly became the fifth Democrat to announce support for the Laken Riley Act.
The bill, named for the 22-year-old Georgia nursing school student murdered last year by an illegal immigrant, would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take custody of illegal migrants who commit theft-related crime.
Currently, local law enforcement can only contact ICE after a major crime has been committed by an illegal migrant.
The House, which passed the legislation in the last Congress, again voted its approval Tuesday. The Senate, now in GOP control, will vote on the bill Friday, which would have been Riley's 23rd birthday.
"Senator Kelly will vote for the Laken Riley Act and looks forward to working with Republicans and Democrats on it and other solutions to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system," Kelly spokesperson Jacob Peters said, Politico reported.
Kelly, who has represented the battleground Grand Canyon State in the Senate since 2021, joins fellow Democrat Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., in indicating support for the bill. Fetterman also is a co-sponsor.
"We must give law enforcement the means to take action when illegal immigrants break the law, to prevent situations like what occurred to Laken Riley," Gallego said in a statement, Politico reported.
More Democrats are expected to support the measure, Politico reported. Eight Democrats will need to join all 52 Republicans to advance the bill.
Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt announced that the Laken Riley Act will be reintroduced as her first piece of legislation in the 119th Congress, according to Alabama Political Reporter.
"But Republicans are in the majority now. Democrats aren't going to be able to hide on this issue anymore, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are on their way out," Britt said. "Democrats no longer have to pretend that their border policies weren't a complete disaster. So this is their opportunity to prove that they heard voters in November and that they're ready to support commonsense, bipartisan solutions."
Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., who was sworn into office Friday after defeating longtime Democrat Sen. Bob Casey in November, is a co-sponsor of the bill.
"The Laken Riley bill empowers [the Department of Homeland Security] to detain criminal aliens to protect the American people," McCormick posted Tuesday night on X. "I promised to fight to secure the border and return law and order to [Pennsylvania] and our country. Supporting this bill does just that."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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