Snow falls at the US Capitol in Washington on an. 6, 2025. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The 119th House passed its first bill of 2025 Tuesday: The Laken Riley Act, which would require the detention of undocumented immigrants arrested for certain non-violent crimes such as theft.
Why it matters: It's a sign of just how central immigration and border security will be for Republicans under the incoming Trump administration.
- The party spent the last four years railing against what they said was the Biden administration's dereliction on border security.
Driving the news: The bill — named for a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed on the University of Georgia campus last year — passed 264-159, with 48 Democrats siding with Republicans in voting for it
- The bill was one of a dozen pieces of legislation listed in the House GOP's rules package that passed last week, allowing it to be voted on under a streamlined process.
- The House previously passed the bill last March, with 37 Democrats voting in favor of it, but it did not get a vote in the then-Democratic Senate.
- Several Democrats who previously opposed the bill, including several committee ranking members and Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), who represents a district not far from UGA, voted for it this time around.
Zoom in: Republicans frequently pointed to Riley's murder at the hands of an undocumented immigrant who had previously been arrested on theft-related charges as evidence of the need for stronger border policies.
- Now Republicans control the Senate and plan to hold a vote on the bill, Axios' Stephen Neukam and Stef Kight reported.
- It's likely to get some Democratic support in the Senate, though it may not be enough to clear the chamber's 60-vote threshold.
The other side: Democratic leadership opposed the bill but did not formally whip against it, according to a notice sent out by House Minority Whip Katherine Clark's (D-Mass.) office.
- "The policies in this bill would ratchet up the number of mandatory detentions without increasing funding to carry them out," the whip notice said.
- It also argued that the bill would give conservative state attorneys general greater ability to block federal border policy.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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