WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alabama’s seven House members all voted in support of the Laken Riley Act Tuesday, which would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants who commit certain crimes.
The Republican-led legislation had some bipartisan support, including from U.S. Reps. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, and Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham. It passed the House 264-159. In total, 48 House Democrats joined Republicans to vote for the bill. Sewell voted against the legislation last year in the House.
The bill is the House’s first piece of legislation for the 119th Congress. It shows the GOP’s commitment to tackling immigration issues and securing the border this year. The bill is named after Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was killed while jogging last year by a Venezuelan immigrant.
“I voted 100 percent for it and ready to get it to the Senate this time and hopefully they’re going to take it up,” U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, told Alabama Daily News. “I feel confident they will. This should pass and it’s unbelievable what this family has been through and nobody else should ever have to go through it.”
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., is sponsoring the immigration legislation in the Senate. The bill would require the detention of undocumented immigrants who commit theft, burglary, larceny, or shoplifting offenses.
“The Laken Riley Act is going to help save lives and protect families that are facing just unimaginable tragedies,” Britt said during a call to reporters Tuesday.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. is a co-sponsor of the bill. He said in a news release that it will help President-elect Donald Trump “restore law and order and secure the border.”
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, said supporting the legislation was a no-brainer.
“This is insane that you’ve got these left-wing district attorneys and these left-wing cities picking up people who have committed crimes and then releasing them back into society,” Palmer told ADN.
Figures said he voted for the bill because it’s a step in improving the immigration system, but said he disagreed with the bill’s approach.
“With this one here, I think particularly so, is one where we are putting more on our federal agencies without the requisite funding so I hope a broader immigration package comes with more funding,” Figures told ADN.
Britt, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she will ensure there will be enough resources across the country to support immigration measures.
“We’ll have an opportunity through (budget) reconciliation, we’ll have an opportunity through the funding bills of FY25 and FY26 to make sure proper funding is in place across the country for interior enforcement to be utilized in the way that it needs to,” Britt said.
The Senate is expected to consider the legislation Friday. All Senate Republicans are co-sponsoring the bill as well as Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn. However, it will need more Democratic support to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a procedural hurdle necessary for the bill’s passage.
Britt said she is reaching out to Democratic senators to get their support for the legislation.