Ten Democrats in the Senate voted Friday to advance the Laken Riley Act, teeing up a final vote in the upper chamber.
The Democratic supporters were Sens. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Mark Warner (Va.), and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.). Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) did not cast votes.
The bill would require federal detention for immigrants without legal status who are accused of theft, burglary and assaulting a law enforcement officer, among other things. It is named after Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant who has since been convicted of murder in the case.
Although Fetterman didn't vote Friday, he has been central to building Democratic support for moving it forward. His office did not immediately respond to inquiries about his vote.
Gallego and Kelly have also been outspoken about illegal immigration's impact on the Sun State, and open to working with the Trump administration to swiftly address the issue once he's in the White House.
Fetterman has made a number of bipartisan overtures amid the Biden-Trump transition, paying a visit to former President Trump in Florida, and earning praise from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Fetterman defended his support for the Laken Riley Act in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
“If you’re here illegally and you’re committing crimes and those things, I don’t know why anybody thinks that it’s controversial that they all need to go,” he stated.
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