Tell Your Democratic Senator to Vote NO on S. 5, the Laken Riley Act

Last week the Senate voted 84-9 on a motion to proceed that opened debate on S. 5, the Laken Riley Act. Rather than using the filibuster to block S. 5, 33 Democrats voted to entertain consideration of this outrageous bill and 5 Democrats just did not cast a vote. (See how your Senator voted here.) Here’s what’s in this dangerous, anti-immigrant legislation:

This bill imposes mandatory, indefinite incarceration on any undocumented person who has merely been accused of burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting related offenses. Of course, those things are already illegal - but this bill does away with due process protections guaranteed in the constitution. This means that millions of people in the United States legally, like DREAMers who came to this country as young children, could be detained and deported based on mere allegations. 

The bill also gives state attorneys general unprecedented powers to sue the federal government if they don’t like policy changes or even individual enforcement decisions. That could mean Texas AG Ken Paxton, known for kidnapping migrants and bussing them to other states, could team up with Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, known for being a lawless MAGA hack, could team up to enforce their version of cruelty towards immigrants on the entire country. 

Let’s be blunt - many Democrats, following election-year losses, are scrambling to do something, anything, to show they’re “tough on immigration.” But without a strategy or a vision for what immigration policy should look like, they’re tripping over each other to support Donald Trump’s first immigration bill, going back on campaign promises to protect DREAMers, and handing more power to the architects of family separation. They’re walking head first into a trap of sloppy politics and dangerous policy. 

But it isn’t over yet, and there’s time for us to shake some sense into our Senators. S. 5 needs to clear the filibuster one more time in order to end debate and allow for the simple-majority vote to actually pass the bill. That means Democrats have one more chance to stop this bill in its tracks by ensuring that it does not meet the 60 vote threshold to move on to final passage (remember, Republicans only have 53 Senators). 

It’s crucial that all 38 Democrats who voted yes last week stand up against Republican efforts to dehumanize and harm immigrant communities and vote NO today. They must show Republicans that they won’t just go along with their anti-immigrant agenda. 

Fill out this form right now and we’ll connect you to your Democratic Senator. Tell that the Laken Riley Act is bad policy that demonizes all immigrants and opens the door for a full MAGA takeover of immigration. Let them know that you expect them to stand up against this fearmongering and vote NO on S.5.