Democrats join with Republicans to take major step toward Senate passage of GOP-led immigration bill

By Clare Foran, Lauren Fox and Ted Barrett, CNN

Washington (CNN) — A significant number of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to advance a GOP-led bill to require the detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes – a key step that puts the legislation on the verge of passage.

The bill steadily picked up support from Senate Democrats, including from battleground states where President-elect Donald Trump won last fall, after passing out of the House earlier in the week. The vote was 84 to 9.

The outcome of the vote comes as Democrats are under pressure to show they will act on immigration in the wake of an election cycle where Republicans attacked the party as weak on the border. In the aftermath of Trump’s win, Democrats from competitive states and districts have said the party must do more to address voter concerns over the issue.

Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju if the politics on immigration have shifted for Democrats, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said, “I hope for our party, I hope it has shifted,” adding that he wasn’t trying to be critical, but was “following what I think is my truth.”

Fetterman also said he thinks there’s enough Democratic support to pass the bill.

“If we as a party, as Democrats, we can’t come up with seven or eight votes, then I would describe that as one of the reasons why we lost,” he said.

If the bill ultimately passes the Senate, it will hand an early win to Republicans, who chose to bring up the legislation as their first bill of the new Congress now that they control both chambers.

The bill would require the detention of undocumented migrants charged with theft or burglary. The legislation is named after a Georgia student who was killed last year while she was out for a run. An undocumented migrant from Venezuela was convicted and sentenced to life without parole in the case that reignited a national debate over immigration and crime.

The legislation still faces hurdles ahead and it is uncertain if it will make it across the finish line in the Senate.

While some Democrats have said they support the bill outright, others have said they want to make changes to it and are seeking a robust amendment process.

One controversial but under-the-radar provision of the legislation would give state attorneys general the authority to sue in federal court over the decisions by federal officials, including immigration judges, to release certain immigrants from detention. They could also sue to force the State Department to impose visa sanctions against countries that refuse to accept nationals that are eligible for deportation.

The push from Democrats to amend the bill presents an early leadership test for Senate GOP leader John Thune. Republicans support the bill in its current form and are likely to balk if Democrats push for extensive changes. The Senate GOP majority also has a packed list of agenda items competing for floor time and will not want to drag out deliberations over the bill.

But if Democrats are not satisfied with the outcome of their push for amendments, the measure could still stall out and fail to make it to final passage in the chamber.

“Democrats want to have a robust debate where we can offer amendments and improve the bill,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “This is an important issue. We should have a debate and amendments and that is why I’m voting ‘yes’ on the motion to proceed. To remind my colleagues, this is not a vote on the bill itself. It’s a motion to proceed, a vote that says we should have a debate and should have amendments.”

GOP Sen. John Barrasso, the Senate Majority Whip, said in floor remarks, “There are some Democrat senators who say that they support the Laken Riley Act, but they want to weaken it. Well, to be clear, Senate Republicans are not weakening this life-saving legislation. We will not allow that to happen.”

Senate Republicans control 53 seats. Typically, that would mean that at least seven Democrats would need to vote with Republicans to hit the 60-vote threshold to advance a bill subject to a filibuster. But incoming West Virginia GOP Sen. Jim Justice, who chose to delay his swearing-in to finish out his term as governor, isn’t expected to take his seat until next week, which meant Republicans needed at least eight Democrats to support the bill for it to move forward.

In the end, however, the bill received widespread support from Democrats in Thursday’s procedural vote.

The nine “no” votes against advancing the bill were Democratic Sens. Cory Booker, Mazie Hirono, Andy Kim, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Brian Schatz, Tina Smith and Elizabeth Warren and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“It’s a time period where people want to show that Trump won and people want to say that they recognize that,” a source close to Democrats told CNN, cautioning that it likely won’t last long because of Trump’s anticipated policies.

Senior Biden administration officials have similarly grappled with what, if anything, more can be done to protect certain immigrants residing in the United States, juggling demands from allies and trying to avoid overreaching on an issue that, some political strategists argue, cost Democrats the White House.

The House vote to pass the legislation on Tuesday was 264 to 159, with 48 Democrats voting with Republicans in support.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Tierney Sneed, Priscilla Alvarez, Ali Main and Haley Talbot contributed to this report.

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