Immigration Bill Advances in Bipartisan Vote
[guest post by Dana]
The Laken Riley Act advanced today:
Senate Democrats overwhelmingly helped advance the GOP’s first bill to address illegal immigration on Thursday, a signal the legislation could pass next week.
Only nine Democrats voted against moving forward on the legislation, and even party leaders like Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) voted to advance it. However, some of those Democrats have pushed to make amendments to the bill — something Republicans are unlikely to allow — so its prospects for passage are still unclear.
One of the amendments Democrats want to put in place is that Dreamers be exempt. Additionally, Democrats might amend the language of the bill to “narrow the threshold for what triggers ICE detention of an undocumented person”.
The Laken Riley Act would change federal law to require ICE, operating under the Department of Homeland Security, to take custody of people in the country illegally and detain them over theft-related crimes. It would target people who are charged, arrested or convicted for committing an act of “burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting,” according to the bill text.
The legislation would also empower state attorneys general to sue the federal government for alleged failures of immigration enforcement “if the State or its residents experience harm, including financial harm in excess of $100.”
After the presidential election results, Democrats may finally be starting to understand and acknowledge that a majority voters consider the control of illegal immigration a priority. Especially for those who commit crimes once they are here in the U.S. Consider:
Walking off the floor, Sen. John Fetterman responded to a question as to why he thinks more Democrats are jumping on board the Laken Riley Act.
“A blinding flash of common sense,” he said.
—Dana
Hello.
Dana (aa58b6) — 1/9/2025 @ 2:27 pmThis retired immigration officer has given a lot of money to the Center for Immigration Studies (cis.org) over the years. The director, Mark Krikorian, gets it, and he’s not a crank like some people.
Enforcement comes first, particularly E-Verify and no public benefits for illegals, which is more effective than a wall. We can talk about a legal status for dreamers once enforcement is working consistently.
norcal (a72384) — 1/9/2025 @ 2:41 pmFetterman is filling Manchin’s shoes nicely, and with less of the hatred from Bernie and his claque.
Paul Montagu (b55108) — 1/9/2025 @ 4:05 pmAs Dana pointed out, Democrats want to amend the bill, thereby loving it to death by possibly including provisions unacceptable to the House:
Rip Murdock (9bda50) — 1/9/2025 @ 5:44 pmVoting to allow debate on the bill is easy and cost free, voting on final passage would take a real change in Democrats thinking. We’ll see how many vote “Yea” on final passage.
Rip Murdock (9bda50) — 1/9/2025 @ 5:49 pmUh-huh:
Fetterman (and the rest of Congress) may not have a chance to object to a unilateral military expedition to Greenland. By the time Congress gets it act together, the Navy will be in Nuuk Port and Harbour and the 82nd Airborne will land at Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base).
Rip Murdock (9bda50) — 1/9/2025 @ 8:39 pmActually, it is classic prejudice or hatred. On what basis should anyone have been forewarned?
Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 1/10/2025 @ 10:59 amBut it is not that old standby, racism. It’s the moral equivalent.
Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 1/10/2025 @ 11:02 amnorcal (a72384) — 1/9/2025 @ 2:41 pm
The whole economic theory his views are based on is nothing but something devised by a crank.
https://equitablegrowth.org/the-general-theory-of-employment-interest-and-money
I’d like to know the name of the defunct economist or crank who flourished probably maybe in the 1880s. – that’s when they switched from thinking that a nation was hurt by emigration (you can see this in the Declaration of Independence) to a nation being hurt by immigration. Actually they went to neutral about 1798 with Malthus) (domestically they still seem to think a population increase for a city or state is good – they are always talking about how Texas and Florida are gaining population and California is losing population)
Enforcement first is a very bad idea. Lord Acton said” “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” Merit is also a bad idea. That is picking winners and losers. Since when do conservatives believe in central planning? Since when do conservatives trust Congress to get the planning right?
If someone says “talk about” that means they don’t want to do it at all. And enough enforcement never will occur, short of totalitarian type controls. And what happens in the meantime to the “Dreamers?”
By the way, it is illegal immigrants, not legal ones, who can get (at leas evntually, government benefits.
Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 1/10/2025 @ 11:36 amI guess that including murder rape or assault would have exposed the defects of this idea.
Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 1/10/2025 @ 11:43 am