U.S. House begins work on Trump immigration crackdown

U.S. lawmakers voted Tuesday to expand pre-trial incarceration for foreign criminal suspects as a new Congress unified under Republican control works to deliver on Donald Trump's vow to crack down on illegal immigration.

The Laken Riley Act -- which calls for the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes -- is named for a 22-year-old student murdered by a Venezuelan man with no papers who was wanted for shoplifting.

"As promised, we're starting today with border security. If you polled the populace and voters, they would tell you that that was the top of the list," Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters ahead of the vote in the House of Representatives.

"And we have a lot to do there to fix it -- it's an absolute disaster because of what has happened over the last four years -- and the Laken Riley Act is a big part of that."

The legislation -- Congress's first bill of the new session -- already passed the House last year, with Republicans keen to highlight what they described as weak border security policies from President Joe Biden.

It was stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate but is expected to get a vote as soon as Friday in the newly-inaugurated upper chamber, which flipped to the Republicans in November's elections.

The bill will likely need at least eight opposition votes and could face a Democratic blockade, despite being co-sponsored by the party's centrist Pennsylvania senator, John Fetterman.

A statement from House Minority Whip Katherine Clark's office accused Republicans of "attempting to use a horrible tragedy for political gain" and said the bill would expand detentions without increasing funding.

In the end, 48 House Democrats voted for the legislation as advanced from the House by 264 votes to 159 -- a small increase from when it was last considered.

Trump has promised to crack down on border crossings and carry out mass deportations once he takes office on January 20 and has named Tom Homan, a veteran hardline immigration official, as his "border czar."

The president-elect repeatedly spotlighted Laken Riley's case during his election campaign as he railed against undocumented migrants, blaming them for "poisoning the blood" of the country.

Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was convicted of her murder after she was found dead in a wooded area at the University of Georgia in Athens.

"The Laken Riley Act is a direct step toward ensuring that criminal illegal aliens are swiftly and permanently removed from our communities and our country," said Republican House Whip Tom Emmer.

"This bill is more than just a piece of legislation. It's a return to common sense American values and, under President Trump's leadership, there will be a lot more where that came from as we restore the rule of law and put Americans first again."

© Agence France-Presse