But what about the Rally Act that just passed the House?
But the Raleigh Act has passed the House but faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Here’s what to know.
WASHINGTON – In a sign of how Republicans are prioritizing a crackdown on illegal immigration, both houses of Congress on Wednesday passed the Raleigh Act, which would target crime committed by immigrants. There is a bill.
It will likely be the first bill signed by President Donald Trump in his second term in office. Trump has also made immigration the focus of several executive orders since taking office on Monday.
The bill would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to detain people who are in the U.S. without legal status on charges of theft, burglary, robbery and shoplifting, or the law. Has been arrested, accused or charged with certain crimes, including assaulting law enforcement agencies. officer
The House approved the bill 263-156, a day after the Senate approved it by a 64-35 vote. The bill was drawn. Some bipartisan support. In addition to nearly all Republicans in both chambers, 46 Democrats voted for it in the House and 12 in the Senate.
It marks a turnaround for Democrats on immigration after their crushing defeat in the 2025 election, during which they failed to retake the House and lost both the Senate and the White House.
Democrats were divided.
Sen. Reuben Gallego, D-Ariz., co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Katie Burt, R-Ala. Gallego told POLITICO A “misunderstanding” has emerged about Latino voters’ opinions about border security.
My constituents “want more border patrol, they want more border investment and enforcement … and they want immigration reform,” he said.
In a heated debate before the House vote on Wednesday, several Democrats argued that the legislation violates civil rights by detaining people accused of mere crimes.
“If anyone wants to point a finger and accuse someone of shoplifting, they will be caught and thrown into a private detention camp and deported without a day in court,” D. said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of NY. “That’s what this bill is about, a fundamental suspension of a basic American value.”
Research has shown that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than citizens.
Meanwhile, Republicans cheered the legislation as a major victory. House Republicans passed the bill last year, but it died in the then-Democratically controlled Senate.
“People who come across our border illegally are not Americans, and they have no rights here,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga. “That’s why every time they break the law, every time they enter our country, they should be caught and deported as soon as possible.”
Due Process vs Detention
Due process applies to everyone in the United States, regardless of immigration status, said Sara Mehta, senior policy counsel for the ACLU.
“This bill — soon to become law — is far more expansive than anything we’ve seen,” Mehta said. “It requires the detention of people who have been arrested at some point, even if it was something they didn’t do.”
Congress currently funds 41,500 immigration detention beds nationwide, and nearly all of them are occupied by the end of 2024.
ICE, the federal agency tasked with immigration enforcement at the Interior, has previously raised concerns about how its 6,000 law enforcement officers across the country could meet the detention mandate without additional resources. can do ICE agents already face a caseload of 7.6 million people without legal status in the country, most of whom are tracked by alternatives to detention, such as ankle bracelets and cellphone applications that track their whereabouts. transfer to
But the Raleigh bill doesn’t come with increased funding.
“When all is said and done, expanding detention operations is about increasing staffing levels and increasing funding,” said Michael Lumpkin, who served as ICE chief of staff under the Biden administration. ” “Bringing on new staff takes time and money.
“Congress needs to step up its game if ICE is to increase manpower, increase detention space, and manage its detainee and non-detainee dockets,” he said.
