Voting on a bill to detain immigrants charged with crimes

 

Senate Democrats join Republicans in a vote on a bill to detain immigrants charged with crimes.

WASHINGTON — Democrats who recently joined Republicans in the minority voted in favor of a bill that would require federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes — a sign that they will try to find places to work with President-elect Donald Trump while also trying to block much of his agenda.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and most other Democrats voted to advance the legislation, advancing the bill by a vote of 84 to 9. Trump and Republicans have pushed the bill forward and made it a priority since the killing last year of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley by a Venezuelan man who entered the United States illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.

Schumer, however, stopped short of voting for the final bill — and made clear that Democrats want Republicans to work with them on partisan amendments. A procedural vote on Thursday will allow that process to begin.

On the Senate floor before the vote, Schumer said new Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., “wants to make the Senate a place where all members should have an opportunity to have their voices heard.” “This bill would be a good place to start.”

Schumer supports the bill after Democrats lost the Senate and the presidency in the November elections. They are trying to pick their battles carefully against Trump while still trying to block much of his agenda. Republicans will need seven Democratic votes to pass most major policy items in the 53-47 Senate, and Schumer has repeatedly said that Thune will have to work with them to get things done.

The new Democratic strategy shifted from Trump’s first term when Democrats publicly and forcefully fought Trump on most issues. It’s a testament to the delicate balance Schumer is trying to strike after Republicans dominated last year’s elections and as some of the more moderate members of his caucus try to demonstrate their ability to work with the new president.

Many Democrats who ran for president last year embraced tougher immigration controls in part to deflect GOP attacks as the Biden administration struggled to manage the influx of migrants at the southwest border. Some of those Democrats have suggested they might support the final bill.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a freshman Democrat, posted a tweet on Tuesday. Elected in November, X said, “Michigan residents have spoken loudly and clearly that they want action to secure our southern border. We must get beyond the petty partisanship dominating the immigration debate.”

Slotkin said she hopes there will be an amendment process once the debate begins next week. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, a Republican leading the bill, told reporters afterward that Republicans are open to working with Democrats on amendments but will oppose efforts to expand the bill beyond its original scope.

Apart from the immigration bill, some Democrats are willing to work with Trump by supporting some of his nominees.

For example, Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen met with New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and posted on Twitter, “I look forward to working with her.” Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman has also met with two of Trump’s most controversial nominees, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and FBI Director nominee Kash Patel, and announced Thursday that he would visit Trump at his Florida home.

Fetterman, on Sunday's “This Week” on ABC, said he was telling Democrats that “continuous panic is not helpful.”

And Democratic leaders seem to agree. As he tries to navigate the new era, Schumer has been working to tie most of the Democrats’ positions to the economy, not Trump himself.

“If Republicans want to work with us on real policies that lower costs for real working Americans, we’re happy to partner with them,” Schumer said.

On the immigration bill, Schumer noted in his morning remarks that Thursday’s vote “was not a vote on the bill itself” but rather a vote to move it to debate. “Democrats want to have a robust debate where we can offer amendments and improve this bill,” he said.

It’s unclear whether Schumer will vote for the final product or whether he will get enough Democratic votes to pass it.

The House passed the legislation earlier this week, making it one of the first acts in a newly Republican-controlled Congress after they seized on Riley’s murder as a rallying point during the election. It would require ICE to arrest unauthorized immigrants who commit theft, robbery, burglary, or shoplifting and hold them in detention until they are removed from the United States.

The bill would also allow states to sue the federal government if they can prove harm caused by immigrants who enter the country illegally.

In a phone call before the vote, former government officials and immigration advocates urged the Senate not to pass the bill and warned that the legislation, if passed, would be unconstitutional and would help President-elect Trump pursue an anti-immigration agenda.

Jason Hauser, former chief of staff of ICE, said Under President Joe Biden: “It strains Border Patrol and ICE resources, impedes their ability to focus on real security threats, and prioritizes the detention of low-level offenders over convicted violent criminals.” “If passed, it would leave fewer violent criminals in custody and weaken our ability to protect communities.”

The House passed the bill last year, but Schumer did not bring it to a vote when Democrats were in the majority.