Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) on Thursday became the first Senate Democrat to co-sponsor the Laken Riley Act, named after the 22-year-old nursing student who was killed on the U.S. campus. Georgia by a Venezuelan migrant.
Tester’s co-sponsorship of the measure is notable because he voted against it when it was offered as an amendment to a spending package that funds the Defense and Homeland Security departments, along with other priorities.
Adding the controversial language to the broader package could have derailed the bipartisan spending agreement.
Tester said last month he would support the Laken Riley Law as a stand-alone bill.
The legislation would require federal authorities to arrest and detain illegal immigrants who commit certain crimes until they can be removed from the United States.
Tester’s support for the bill, which passed the House with a large bipartisan majority, shows the growing importance of border security as an issue ahead of the 2024 elections.
“After listening to Montana law enforcement officials, I am supporting the Laken Riley Act to ensure that individuals who enter our country and commit a crime are held accountable, so that no Montana family has to worry about the safety of their loved ones, “, he said in a statement.
Tester, who is running for re-election in a state that twice voted for former President Trump, is one of the Senate’s most vulnerable incumbents.
He said keeping Montana safe is his top priority, which is why he has “repeatedly called on the Biden administration and Congress to do more to secure the southern border.”
The bill would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants who commit robbery, robbery, theft or shoplifting and detain them until they are removed from the county.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee quickly pointed out that Tester voted against the Laken Riley Act when it was offered as an amendment sponsored by Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) to a must-pass appropriations bill .
However, Tester, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, stressed that he achieved what his office described as “significant wins for border security” in a $1.2 billion government funding package.
He helped appropriate funding for 22,000 border patrol agents, 150 new Customs and Border Protection entry points and 41,500 new detention beds in the bill.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
