
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The swift passage of the Laken Riley Act has Democrats angry with the realization of how wrong they were about how Americans feel about immigration. Such missteps cost them the White House and the faith and trust of the American people for a long time to come.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to sources, The Laken Riley Act is pissing off the Senate Democratic Conference, as senators believe their party bungled immigration and border security in 2024 and aren’t happy about the swift passage of a bill they view as terrible policy. Democratic critics of the bill believe the rush to pass it is a political overreaction from Democratic colleagues scrambling to protect themselves on those issues. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some Democratic senators are venting frustration about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) giving the green light to politically vulnerable colleagues to vote to advance the bill without getting an ironclad guarantee that Democrats would have more opportunity to amend the legislation.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Those ;Democratic lawmakers have likened the handling of the bill to a disorganized retreat and warn that it has sparked deep frustration in a caucus still stung from the loss of their majority in November.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“There is huge frustration that the bill didn’t go to committee on something so consequential,” fumed one Democratic senator who requested anonymity to discuss the intense debate that rocked the caucus.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“There is huge concern because we’re talking about the mandatory imprisonment based on an accusation without a person even being charged, let alone being convicted, and this applies to kids,” the senator said. “It’s a sweeping assault on core principles, and it doesn’t even have a judicial review component.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The senator voiced frustration that Senate Democratic ;leadership​ ;didn’t press colleagues to block the motion to proceed to the bill unless Republicans promised more votes on amendments to change the bill on the Senate floor.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Speaking to The Hill, the unnamed lawmaker added, “There is enormous frustration. They put up the white flag from the very beginning and said for too many people [in the caucus] immigration is too toxic, and we have to just get through this without really understanding the gravity of this bill and what it represents in terms of violating the norms — indefinite detention, no judicial ;review, based ;on an allegation.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Democrats facing competitive reelections in 2026 and who represent swing states, however, were eager to vote to advance the bill after President Trump and Republicans bashed their party all year over the murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan migrant who entered the country without legal status and was previously arrested in New York and Georgia.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ten Democrats voted to advance the bill to a final up-or-down vote, including Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who face potentially competitive races next year.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The bill passed the Senate on Monday evening after Trump’s historic second inauguration.</p>

Laken Riley Act Shows How Wrong Dems Were on Immigration
