Congress is preparing to support the first deportation law of the Trump era with Democratic support | Immigration in the United States

The countdown to Trump-era immigrant deportations is underway. The president will have a new legal tool to stop and begin expelling immigrants from the country. Congress is preparing to approve a law that allows the deportations of undocumented immigrants who have committed minor crimes, even if they have not been convicted. The House of Representatives approved the rule last week and the Senate later gave the green light to its processing thanks to a vote in which the support of Democratic senators was decisive. The calendar is not closed, but the debate and final approval of the law could occur even this week, in time for Donald Trump to apply it after taking office on January 20.

The law is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, murdered last February at the University of Georgia in Athens by José Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan who crossed the border illegally in September 2022 and whom, after having Having been arrested for theft, he was allowed to remain free while processing his legal situation. It was one of the cases that Trump exploited in the election campaign. Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison in November.

The bill was approved by 264 votes in favor and 159 against in the House of Representatives, where 48 Democratic congressmen gave it their support along with all Republicans. However, it was in the Senate where Democratic support was decisive for the processing of the law to continue. In the upper house, 60 of the 100 votes are needed to overcome the filibuster obstacle, which prevents a legal initiative from being put to a vote without that support. Although the Republicans have only 53 senators, the key vote recorded 84 votes in favor and only 9 against.

That was not the final vote on the law, but from now on a simple majority is enough to approve it. Even so, the Democrats hope to introduce amendments and reach a consensus with the Republicans, as their leader, Chuck Schumer, explained in his speech in the plenary session.

As currently drafted, the law would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain unauthorized immigrants who are charged, detained, or convicted of nonviolent theft, robbery, and robbery, and order them to be detained until they are removed. of the country. Under the current law, immigrants must have been convicted of two minor crimes or one serious crime for them to face deportation. The text of the new rule would also allow states to sue the federal government if they can demonstrate harm caused by immigrants entering the country illegally.

A similar initiative failed last term after being approved in the Lower House, when it was blocked in the Senate, then with a Democratic majority. The Democrats have hardened their position on immigration after the electoral success of the Republicans, who won the presidency and the majority in both legislative chambers in the elections on November 5.

“Not only will I vote for the Laken Riley Act, I will co-sponsor it,” tweeted Arizona Democratic Sen. Rubén Gallego. “Arizona residents know better than anyone the real consequences of the current border crisis. We must give law enforcement the means to act and prevent tragedies like what happened to Laken Riley,” he added. For his part, John Fetterman, senator from Pennsylvania, wrote: “I support a secure border. I support a legal avenue for dreamers (who arrived as minor children of immigrants and have made their lives in the country). I support the Laken Riley Act.”

It also marks a change from Trump’s first term, when Democrats stood up to him from the beginning on almost all of his measures. Now, they seem ready to adopt a new strategy, cooperate with Republicans on some issues and choose their battles well.

Pro-immigrant organizations have harshly criticized the new rule. “This bill is shamefully exploitative and has one clear intention in mind: to fulfill Trump and MAGA’s brutal and politically motivated agenda of rounding up millions of immigrants for mass detention and deportation at any time. necessary means,” Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, deputy director of Federal Activism at United We Dream Action, said in a statement. “It is highly disappointing that some Democrats fell for the obvious political scapegoating and traps that MAGA Republicans set for them instead of standing firm and standing up for what the vast majority of Americans really want: a humane, fair and efficient immigration system.” ”he added.

One of the objections that these organizations and some Democratic congressmen raise to the law is that it is not necessary for immigrants to be tried and convicted for these minor crimes, but it is enough for them to be accused or detained for them. They allege that this violates the presumption of innocence and the right to due process and, therefore, violates the Constitution. Others criticize that, with the limited resources available, focusing on the perpetrators of minor crimes may end up reducing the effort to concentrate on the most dangerous and violent cases.

Republicans also plan other legal initiatives such as forcing asylum-seeking immigrants to wait abroad for the resolution of their cases and cutting federal funding for cities that do not cooperate with immigration authorities. Trump promised mass deportations of up to 11 million undocumented immigrants during his campaign, although he later said that he would initially focus the expulsions on “criminals” and then with the rest he would see “how it goes,” opening the door to an agreement for dreamers they stay in the United States.

Temporary protection

While Trump prepares for massive exports, the Government of the current president, Joe Biden, decided last week to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, which allows some 600,000 Venezuelans to remain legally in the United States, more than 230,000 Salvadorans and more than 100,000 Ukrainians.

Congress created TPS in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries experiencing natural disasters or civil conflict, granting people authorization to work for periods of up to 18 months at a time. About a million immigrants from 17 countries are protected by TPS, including people from Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Sudan, Ukraine and Lebanon, the Associated Press reports.

Venezuelans are the largest beneficiaries and their extension runs from April 2025 to October 2, 2026. Salvadorans obtained TPS in 2001 after the earthquakes that shook the Central American country. This was to expire in March and is extended until September 9, 2026.

Trump suggested during the campaign that he will reduce policies that grant temporary status. During his first term, he decided to end TPS for El Salvador, but the courts prevented it.