Republicans in Congress She campaigned on border security last year.
So, it should come as no surprise that their initial legislative actions for 2025 will focus on illegal immigration and tightening border controls.
One might debate whether Republicans in Congress seized on the murder of Georgia nursing student Lakin Riley for political gain. Riley, 22, went jogging last February and never came back. Jose Antonio Ibarra killed Riley. He entered the country illegally from Venezuela.
“She hit her head with a rock,” said Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins, the immigration bill's lead sponsor. “This is one of the most horrific crimes imaginable. People need to know what this animal did to her.” .
Senate Democrats join Republicans to push Laken Riley's anti-illegal immigration bill
Jose Ibarra was found guilty of 10 counts in the death of Georgia nursing student Lakin Riley. (Hyoseob Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
Republicans took over this episode. To the right, the Laken Riley case symbolized all that was wrong with the border and the Biden administration. Days after Riley's death last year, the House passed the Lakin-Riley Act. The bill would require federal detention for anyone in the country illegally who is arrested for theft or robbery. Republicans argued that Riley would be with us today if such a policy had been implemented to capture Ibarra.
It will take months for Republicans in Congress to get on the same page when it comes to President-elect Donald Trump's demand for a joint “big, beautiful bill” on tax policy, federal spending and immigration. Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike JohnsonThe Los Angeles Republican says the goal is to pass this reconciliation package in early April.
Approving a border security package in itself would be challenging enough – not to mention the cost. So Republicans in Congress are targeting the low-hanging fruit. So, the GOP turned to an old standby as its primary legislative effort for the new year: the Laken-Riley Act.
Progressive Democrats pounced and accused Republicans of inciting racism.
“It's just an attempt to score cheap political points from a tragic death,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said during the debate. “This is the Republican playbook over and over again. Scaring people out of immigrants.”
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., accused Republicans of trying to “score cheap political points” by naming the anti-illegal immigrant crime bill after Laken Riley. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Their bill today is an empty and opportunistic measure,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. “Choose a crime, post an immigration law form that covers convicted felons, and then request the detention or deportation of certain people charged only with the crime or arrested for the crime.”
“It's very clear that House Republicans are going to push an anti-immigrant agenda,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. “I personally voted against it because this would open the way for deportation of individuals with DACA, even if they were near someone who committed a crime.”
Republicans applauded again.
“To my fellow Democrats, I ask you: How many name-related laws do we need to pass before you take this crisis seriously?” Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., asked during debate on the House floor.
Majority Democratic criticism It emerged from the left wing of the party and the Progressives.
But there is a development underway in the Democratic Party. It's a practical application when it comes to border security and immigration and how the party ignored this issue in the last election. He will most likely pay the price.
The Lakin-Riley Act passes the House with 48 Democrats, all Republicans
Thirty-seven House Democrats voted for the Laken-Riley Act when the House approved the initial version of the bill last year. That number swelled to 48 Democrats this week when the House approved the Lakin-Riley Act of 2025 in its first legislative vote of 2025.
An examination of the vote matrix shows how dozens of moderate Democrats or those representing swing districts voted yes. Six Democrats who voted no last year flipped their votes to yes this time.
This includes Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., Val Howell, D-Oregon, Lucy McBath, D-Georgia, Joe Morrill, D-N.Y., Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Terry Sewell, D-N.Y. . Alaa.
“I'm worried about what happened to Miss Riley.” said Morrell, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee. “I want to make sure this doesn't happen to other people.”
Other years came from longtime conservative Democrats like Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Tex. It represents a border area. When asked why he voted yes, Cuellar replied: “It's easy. We will not welcome people who break the law.”
Other moderates representing swing districts who voted yes included Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, Don Davis, D-North Carolina, Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Mary Glusenkamp Perez, D-Washington.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, speaks during a news conference about rising suicide rates at the U.S. Border Patrol on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Maryam Zohaib)
So did the Democrats get the debt after the election?
“There has been criticism that Democrats have not taken immigration seriously,” asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. He asked, “Was there remorse and that's why some of these votes changed?”
Jeffries attributed this to the joining of new members Democratic Rally.
“My understanding is there are about eight to 10 more Democratic votes this year than last year. There are 30 new members in the House Democratic Caucus,” Jeffries said.
But even though the bill passed the House, there is always the Senate. The Senate never considered the Laken-Riley Act last year.
“The Senate,” Collins lamented. “(The bill) floundered and went nowhere. It fell into the black hole of the Senate. Like a lot of our legislation we sent there.”
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Sen. John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, said the desire for secure borders is not “xenophobia.” (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
But Republicans now control the Senate. Not the Democrats. New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RD, has also made sure his body makes the Laken-Riley Act his primary focus in early 2025.
“Senate Democrats uniformly opposed (the Laken-Riley Act) last year, even though the bill had bipartisan support in the House,” Thune said. “We will see what they do when the new majority in the Senate puts it to a vote.”
Sin. John Fettermana Democrat from Pennsylvania, who often opposes his party, quickly signed the Laken-Riley Act.
“The desire for secure borders is not xenophobia,” Fetterman said. “It's not xenophobia if you don't want people with criminal records who are actively violating the law to stay here in the country.”
Fetterman brushed off liberal concerns about violating the civil rights of undocumented people who might be detained.
“If they're here, technically, they're already violating the law,” Fetterman said.
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A list of other Democrats quickly signed on to support the measure as well.
Among them was Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a freshman representing a battleground border state. He says Democrats botched the border security issue in the election.
“It was all inaction. It certainly cost the Democratic Party. I would say it probably cost the White House,” Gallego said. “I think we have to learn lessons from that.”
The Senate votes today to break the filibuster to begin debate on the Laken-Riley Act. It is scheduled to be passed next week if this procedural hurdle is cleared today.
Republicans will introduce other border security/immigration bills in the next few months. Watch to see if Democrats join them. The lesson of the Laken-Riley Act is that Democrats representing a competitive district believe the party got it wrong when it comes to border security. They are seeking to inoculate themselves on the issue. Even if not all Democrats, this represents a different approach for the party on the border than last year.
