Senate poised to advance Laken Riley Act after bipartisan House vote

Washington — The Senate appears poised to advance a bill aimed at expanding the federal government's mandate to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally, with Republicans putting the issue front and center in the new Congress. 

The bill marks the first policy legislation of the new Congress, and the House approved it in a bipartisan vote on Tuesday.

Under current law, the Department of Homeland Security is mandated to detain noncitizens convicted of certain crimes, including "aggravated felonies," or serious offenses like murder and sexual assault. The Laken Riley Act would expand mandatory detention to include noncitizens convicted of or charged with burglary, larceny, theft or shoplifting, as well as those who admit to committing those crimes.