On Senate Floor, Senator Murray Lays Out How Laken Riley Act Would Throw Our Immigration System Into Chaos, Cost Billions, and Divert Resources From True Threats

Senator Murray: "We are talking $83 billion over the first three years to implement this bill-that's more than the annual budget for the entire Department of Homeland Security. That's a lot of money to spend on a bill that is going to cause chaos, punish legal immigrants, and undermine due process in America-all while drawing resources away from true threats."

***VIDEO of Senator Murray's floor speech HERE***

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate Floor to lay out a forceful case against the Laken Riley Act that would drastically undermine civil liberties, divert resources from detaining true threats to public safety, and throw our immigration system into chaos-not to mention require tens of billions in additional federal funding, and a doubling in ICE staff to enforce. Murray laid out in detail how the Laken Riley Act would waste critical resources, undermine due process, and unleash sweeping changes to our immigration system-creating far-reaching chaos and undermining established Supreme Court precedent.

"We can and do, already, detain and deport immigrants who commit serious crimes-and we are not about to change that," Senator Murray said in a speech on the Senate floor today. "But Republicans have been ignoring the policies we already have on the books, to push for a bill that, in its current form, is more extreme, expensive, and broad than it first appears. I am very concerned that without serious amendments, this bill is rife with unintended consequences and powers that could be abused."

"As written, it will drastically undermine civil liberties in this country. It will throw our immigration system into absolute chaos by undermining any President's authority to shape federal policy. It will cost tens of billions of dollars. And here is the kicker-it will end up punishing legal immigrants and diverting resources from detaining true threats to public safety," Murray said.

Senator Murray outlined how the overly broad language in the bill is a clear attack on due process. Since the legislation doesn't require a person to be found guilty of a crime to be detained and deported, a person could be arrested or charged even if they are innocent, or a child-the legislation has no exemption for kids and no process to keep it in line with our child welfare laws, meaning that under the legislation, a child could be locked up and even put on a plane without their parents. "With such sweeping language, I am deeply concerned the Trump administration could abuse this law to deport Dreamers, or our farmworkers, or other essential workers who, again, may never be convicted of a crime," Murray underscored.

Murray continued by explaining how the bill, as written, is "an open invitation for Republican state officials to dictate individual case outcomes-regardless of ICE-derail national immigration policy, and even disrupt international relations," including by wrecking major humanitarian relief pathways like Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan and Ukrainian nationals.Under the law, state officials could seek court orders to deport individuals-again without sign off from ICE-and in some cases, could even sue to halt visas from entire countries. "That is a policy that, by its design, will end up punishing the people who are following the law to enter the U.S. legally," Murray argued.

"With a federal immigration system that is already too chaotic and complicated-just wait until any state AG can overrule ICE, undermine the President, and throw thousands of legal-legal-visa applications into limbo," Murray said.

Senator Murray also laid out how, if ICE is required to spend resources detaining nonviolent cases, the agency will be left with fewer resources to tackle the most serious cases-and DHS already doesn't have anywhere near the resources to implement this bill. "ICE would need more than three times the current number of detention beds, a 265 percent increase, for this. It would need to execute 80 removal flights a week-almost double its current capacity. Not to mention it would need to double ground transportation. That all adds up to ICE needing to nearly double its staff, hiring over 18,000 additional people," Murray said. "And to give you a sense of how expensive that is: ICE estimates it will need more than triple its budget in year one."

Murray concluded by urging her colleagues to demand a far more serious amendment process to the Laken Riley Act-one that would address the many issues with the way the legislation threatens due process, and the potential for it to be abused-and reiterated that being tough on immigration doesn't require ignoring common sense, wasting crucial resources, or giving up our values.

As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee in the 118^th Congress, Senator Murray negotiated and passed a Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill that provided new resources to stop the flow of fentanyl, strengthen efforts abroad to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations, and achieve a more humane, orderly, and secure environment along the southwest border. She is currently negotiating funding bills for Fiscal Year 2025.

Senator Murray has championed comprehensive and humane immigration reform throughout her Senate career, repeatedly pushing for legislative solutions that would offer a fair pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America, including Dreamers, farmworkers, and those with Temporary Protected Status. She has long worked on legislative efforts to bring dignity and humanity to our immigration system-from protecting the health and safety of immigrant workers, to recognizing and bolstering America's historical commitment to refugees and asylum seekers, promoting immigration as an integral part of our communities, and more.

Senator Murray's full remarks, as delivered on the Senate floor today, are below and video is HERE:

"Thank you, Mr. President. If you believe we should be able to detain and deport undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes, and you took Republicans at their word that the Laken Riley Act was necessary for us to do that, you need to know: that is already federal law.

"We can and do, already, detain and deport immigrants who commit serious crimes-and we are not about to change that.

"But Republicans have been ignoring the policies we already have on the books, to push for a bill that, in its current form, is more extreme, expensive, and broad than it first appears.

"I am very concerned that without serious amendments, this bill is rife with unintended consequences and powers that could be abused. As written, it will drastically undermine civil liberties in this country. It will throw our immigration system into absolute chaos by undermining any President's authority to shape federal policy. It will cost tens of billions of dollars. And here is the kicker-it will end up punishing legal immigrants and diverting resources from detaining true threats to public safety.

"First off, let's talk about how extremely broad the language of this bill is. Under this bill, you don't have to be found guilty of a felony to be detained and deported. That is a huge attack on due process.

"All you need is to be arrested or charged-regardless of whether that is something as small as shoplifting a candy bar, regardless of whether it may become clear you are innocent, regardless of whether this happened years, or even decades ago, and even regardless of whether you are a child.

"So let me just underscore that, because it's important: this bill has no exemption for kids, no cut off age, and no process to keep it in line with our general child welfare laws. As written, this bill appears so broad a child could be locked up and put on a plane without their parents.

"With such sweeping language, I am deeply concerned the Trump administration could abuse this law to deport Dreamers, or our farmworkers, or other essential workers who, again, may never be convicted of a crime.

"And, to be fair, it's not just Trump I'm worried about, because this bill is an open invitation for Republican state officials to dictate individual case outcomes-regardless of ICE-derail national immigration policy and even disrupt international relations.

"Under this bill as written, any state attorney general could wreck major humanitarian relief pathways like Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan or Ukrainian nationals. They can seek court orders to deport individuals without sign off from ICE. And, in some cases, they could sue to halt visas from entire countries.

"That is a policy that, by its design, will end up punishing the people who are following the law to enter the U.S. legally. It could punish refugees who are fleeing violence. It could punish people who come here to engage in trade and in commerce that helps our economy grow. It could even punish American citizens, if they are hoping to get a visa for their spouse.

"With a federal immigration system that is already too chaotic and complicated-just wait until any state AG can overrule ICE, undermine the President, and throw thousands of legal-legal-visa applications into limbo.

"The bill also promises these lawsuits priority, which could be a huge burden on our courts. And if that weren't counter-productive enough, not only will this bill as written punish legal immigrants, it will also divert resources we need to detain genuine threats to public safety.

"If ICE is required, as this bill says, to spend resources detaining nonviolent-not even convicted-shoplifting cases and the like, they will have their hands tied as resources are stretched thinner and thinner by an overwhelming number of minor cases, leaving them with fewer and fewer resources then to tackle the most serious cases. And that is especially concerning, because DHS already does not have anywhere near the resources to implement this bill.

"ICE would need actually more than three times the current number of detention beds-a 265 percent increase-for this bill. It would need to execute 80 removal flights a week-almost double its current capacity. Not to mention it would need to double ground transportation.

"That all adds up to ICE needing to nearly double its staff, hiring over 18,000 additional people. And to give you a sense of how unrealistic that is, historically, DHS hasn't been able to onboard more than 1,000 people in a year.

"And to give you a sense of how expensive this is: ICE estimates it will need more than triple its budget in year one, really closer to four times their current funding level.

"We are now talking up to $83 billion dollars for this legislation over the first three years to implement it-that's more than the annual budget for the entire Department of Homeland Security. That is a lot of money to spend on a bill that is going to cause chaos, punish legal immigrants, and undermine due process in America-all while drawing resources away from true threats.

"Mr. President, make no mistake, there are serious challenges we have at our border. There is a serious need for sensible immigration reform. But being tough on immigration does not require us to forsake our bedrock principles, like due process, or our moral obligation to keep children safe. It does not require us to ignore our common sense and waste crucial resources.

"And so, while I hope to work with my colleagues to improve this bill-as I try to improve every bill that I can-I have to say, we have a long road ahead to address my deep concerns with the way this bill threatens due process, and the potential for it to be abused.

"So I strongly urge my colleagues to demand a far more serious amendment process on this bill. But more than that, I urge them to demand a serious, bipartisan approach to tackling immigration in an effective, humane way. One that protects our country and upholds our values."

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