US House passes Laken Riley Act as Donald Trump begins crackdown on immigrants

This is an extreme and reactive bill that will authorize the largest expansion of mandatory detention we have seen in decades, sweeping in children, Dreamers, parents of US-citizen children and other longtime members of their communities who even Ice thinks should not be detained,

Sarah Mehta, senior border policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said last week as the bill made its way through Congress

Spineless. That’s the only word for the 10 Senate Democrats who handed Maga Republicans a gift they didn’t deserve,

Sarah Dohl, chief campaigns officer of the progressive group Indivisible, said last week, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again (Maga) slogan

The Laken Riley Act is a racist, xenophobic attack on immigrants that shreds constitutional rights and hands power to extremists like [Texas attorney general] Ken Paxton to hijack federal immigration policy. It’s not just cruel – it’s a train wreck of chaos and bad faith. And yet, Senate Democrats caved,

she added

Katie Brittsenator

I am thrilled. And that’s what the American people deserve, they deserve for us to check our partisanship at the door, and where we show our common goal, try to find a pathway forward,

Britt said

Delia Ramirezillinois

And I do worry that we're not actually establishing what the red lines are when it comes to immigrants, what are the things that are non-negotiable,

Ramirez told The Independent

This is not just about being, ‘tough on immigration,’

she told The Independent

What are we unwilling to vote yes on, because the reality is that in this moment, it feels like immigrants are the most vulnerable,

she said

Randy Feenstramember of the State Senate of Iowa

Nearly a decade ago, 21-year-old Sarah Root's life was tragically cut short when she was killed by an illegal immigrant who was driving while drunk…Sarah's Law not only delivered justice for the Root family but also ensures that any illegal immigrant who harms or kills an American citizen is swiftly detained and prosecuted."

Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, who led Sarah's Law, one of the amendments adopted in the bill, told Fox News Digital

The Democratic Caucus believes in a safe and secure border,

Aguilar continued

Pete Aguilardemocratic Caucus Chair

Members will vote their districts. Members have to balance ... their love for this country with the job that they have to do for their constituents. We expect them to do both in the votes that they make."

Addressing the divide in the party over the bill, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told reporters

You don’t have more murders of innocent people because of an open border. President Trump has already taken action to start reversing that open border,

he added

We’re very happy with the way things have turned out,

he said

Any discussion that should be had here around the issue of border security, around the issue of immigration,

he said