Senate passes immigrant detention bill that could be the first measure Trump signs into law

Fresh off President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Senate on January 20 passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, the first measure he likely will sign into law and giving more weight to his plans to deport millions of migrants.

Fresh off President Donald Trump's inauguration, the Senate on Monday (January 20, 2025) passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, the first measure he likely will sign into law and giving more weight to his plans to deport millions of migrants.

Follow Trump inauguration LIVE Updates here

Mr. Trump has made a broad crackdown on illegal immigration his top priority, and Congress, with Republicans in control and some Democrats willing to go along, is showing it is ready to follow suit.

Passage of the Laken Riley Act — named after a Georgia nursing student whose murder by a Venezuelan man last year became a rallying cry for Trump’s White House campaign — was a sign of how Congress has shifted sharply right on border security and immigration.

“We don’t want criminals coming into our country,” Mr. Trump told supporters at the Capitol, adding he looked forward to holding a bill signing “within a week or so.”

Trump is already ending many of former President Joe Biden's border and immigration programs, turning the United States away from the Democrat's attempts at more humane immigration policies at a time when record numbers of people were sometimes arriving at the border with Mexico. Swift action on immigration policy was proof of how Democrats were no longer resisting some strict enforcement proposals.

“If you come into this country illegally and you commit a crime, you should not be free to roam the streets of this nation,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who helped push the bill through the Senate.