Fetterman cosponsors GOP-led Laken Riley bill, one of the few Democrats backing it

Sen. John Fetterman is the lone Senate Democrat cosponsoring a Republican-led bill that would require federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants arrested for theft-related crimes.

The bill, passed with bipartisan support in the House on Tuesday, is slated to come up for a Senate vote on Friday. In addition to requiring federal detention of undocumented immigrants who commit theft, it would allow states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration, greatly expanding the authority of state attorneys general.

Lawmakers named the legislation after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who was murdered while jogging at the University of Georgia. Her convicted killer, Jose Ibarra, had entered the U.S. illegally and had previously been released after an arrest for stealing merchandise from a Walmart store. He was sentenced to life without parole in November.

“Laken Riley’s story is a tragic reminder of what’s at stake when our systems fail to protect people,” Fetterman said in a joint news release sent by the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Katie Britt (R., Ala.). “No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to preventable violence,” the Pennsylvania Democrat continued. “Immigration is what makes our country great. I support giving authorities the tools to prevent tragedies like this one while we work on comprehensive solutions to our broken system.”

Fetterman’s support, first reported by Punchbowl News, continues an openness he has displayed for working with Republicans and on Republican-led issues. The bill is backed by every Republican in the Senate. But Fetterman’s backing also reflects how Democrats are reexamining their stances on immigration, which played a key role in the presidential campaign in Pennsylvania and nationally. While Fetterman is the only listed Democratic cosponsor, Sens. Gary Peters (D., Mich.) and Jon Ossoff (D., Ga.) indicated they would support the bill in interviews on the Hill on Tuesday.

The bill passed the House on Tuesday with the support of 48 Democrats, including Pennsylvania Reps. Brendan Boyle, of Philadelphia, and Chris Deluzio, who represents a section of Western Pennsylvania outside Pittsburgh. Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Pa.), of Philadelphia, did not vote.

“We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” Boyle, whose father emigrated from Ireland, said in a statement Tuesday. “We can be true to both. As the son of an immigrant, I am proudly pro-immigrant. I also believe in holding individuals accountable who break the law.”

Boyle said the bill “isn’t perfect,” but called it “much improved” from the version introduced last session, which he said was “filled with vitriolic partisan attacks.”

For the bill to receive a vote in the Senate, Republicans would need at least seven Democrats to support taking up the legislation.

Democrats and immigrant rights groups opposing the bill accused Republicans of using a horrible tragedy for political gain. They called the legislation a violation of due process, noting it would mandate detention for undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients and those with temporary protected status accused of theft, even if they are not convicted. And the provision that allows states to sue the federal government could represent a ”seismic shift” in immigration policy, said Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council.

“This is the Republican playbook over and over again,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) said on the House floor. “Scare people about immigrants, never propose anything that actually solves an outdated and arcane immigration system.”

Fetterman has been a staunch advocate for immigrants, particularly those referred to as “Dreamers,” who come to the country as minors. His wife, Gisele, was a “Dreamer” who came to the U.S. with her mother and younger brother from Brazil when she was 7. The family, all of them undocumented, lived in a one-room apartment in New York City, a story both Fettermans have told on the campaign trail. In 2004, Gisele Fetterman received lawful permanent residency, commonly called a green card, and she became a United States citizen in 2009.

While Fetterman has reiterated his support for Dreamers in recent months, he has also called for stronger border security and stricter penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.

“ICE reported tens of thousands of migrants with criminal records — homicide or sexual assault,” Fetterman posted on X Tuesday. “425,000 have criminal records in total and should be deported. I support a secure border. I support a legal path for Dreamers. I support the Laken Riley Act.”

That number, 425,000, refers to a memo ICE issued this summer and encompasses data going back decades, including people who entered the country 40 years ago and those who are incarcerated in federal, state, or local prisons, serving sentences or awaiting trials.

Jasmine Rivera, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, said Fetterman was ”turning his back on the immigrant community” by supporting the bill.

“We stood with his family in front of a prison for immigrant families. And now he’s taking this line?” Rivera said, recalling a vigil held outside the migrant detention center in Berks County.

“When John Fetterman first ran for Senate … I would hear him say over and over and over again how thankful he was to his wife’s parents,” Rivera said. “Because they chose to come to this country, and they chose to take the risk of being undocumented. And because of them, he was able to meet his wife and have his family. That is what I keep remembering as he has spent the last couple of years completely turning his back on the immigrant community.”

The legislation would change immigration laws to authorize the secretary of homeland security to take custody of undocumented people charged with crimes related to theft, including burglary, larceny, and shoplifting. Those detainments could result in deportation. Under current law, an undocumented immigrant who commits two petty crimes could face deportation.

Congress has taken a stricter approach in recent years to crimes that can result in deportation, expanding the list to include more minor infractions. Studies have shown undocumented immigrants commit crimes at far lower rates than U.S.-born citizens.

“It violates due process to say someone merely arrested for stealing diapers in a store could be detained with no opportunity for release,” said Gupta, from the American Immigration Council, an immigrant advocacy group.

Under the bill, state attorneys general could also sue the federal government if an immigrant who enters the United States illegally and is released commits a crime against the state or its residents.

Gupta said those lawsuits could extend to state attorneys general suing the federal government to stop issuing visas to foreign countries.

“It’s really just a vehicle for Trump’s mass deportation agenda,” she said. “And a way to target undocumented people and to give anti-immigrant state attorneys general leeway to control what the federal government does.”