WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted to move the Laken Riley Act forward to another art of the legislative process.
The Laken Riley Act, also titled S. 5, moved past the potential hurdle of a filibuster on bipartisan grounds, with 84 senators voting to allow the bill to progress.
The bill’s next step on Capitol Hill will be a roll call vote to head to the floor of the U.S. Senate. According to congressional documents, that vote is expected to happen at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
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Georgia Rep. Mike Collins introduced the legislation last year, and reintroduced it for the 119th Congress, aimed at addressing what he said were failures of the Biden administration’s border policies in response to Laken Riley’s death in Athens in February 2024. She was killed on the University of Georgia campus while jogging.
If the bill ends up fully passing the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives without any further changes or amendments, it could be one of the first pieces of legislation President-elect Donald Trump signs into law after taking the oath of office.
The incoming president is expected to be inaugurated on Jan. 20.
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As far as what the bill does, the Laken Riley Act would create new layers of government action at the state level for immigration and also creates new law enforcement requirements related to undocumented migrants entering and remaining in the United States if accused of various crimes.
Channel 2 Action News has previously covered the provisions of the bill, when it passed the House with all Republican members voting in favor along with 48 Democrats.
As Channel 2 Action News previously reported, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would have to detain non-U.S. nationals who are arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting, if the Laken Riley Act passes.
The bill also allows states to sue the U.S. government for decisions or alleged failures to enforce immigration law, according to the bill summary. Homeland Security must also detain individuals in the U.S. unlawfully or who do not have the necessary documents with them to apply for admission into the country, as well as any charged with, arrested for, or who have admitted to committing acts that “constitute the essential elements or burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.”
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