Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that he is “a no” on the Laken Riley Act “as currently written.”
“As currently written, I’m a no because it opens the doors for people simply being charged without a conviction, to be detained and deported, that includes minors, that includes Dreamers, that’s shoplifting a pack of bubble gum,” Padilla told NBC News’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”
Earlier this week, the Senate cleared a procedural hurdle on the way to passing the Laken Riley Act, which has a target of suppressing crime by migrants. Thirty-three Senate Democrats voted with Republicans in the 84 to 9 vote on Thursday.
The Laken Riley Act, named for a college student who was killed last February by a Venezuelan migrant who had been arrested for shoplifting prior to the attack, would mandate federal detention of immigrants lacking legal status accused of theft, burglary and other similar crimes.
“The bill currently as written is — first of all, it’s not immigration policy,” Padilla said during his “Meet the Press” appearance. “Second of all, it is already in law that those who commit violent crimes can and should be detained.”
While on the floor before Thursday’s vote, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said “[t]he Laken Riley Act presents the Senate a simple choice: Are you willing to allow illegal immigrant criminals to roam free in our country?”
“Or do you want to save American lives?” Barrasso added. “Protecting Americans from the dangers of a broken border makes sense to most of our citizens.”
