Democratic Senators Maintain Support for Controversial 2025 Immigration Law
Three Democratic senators with potential presidential ambitions for the 2028 election are standing firm on their decision to vote for legislation that granted President Donald Trump enhanced authority to detain undocumented immigrants. This comes as numerous other Democrats have begun publicly apologizing for their initial support of the measure, creating a significant rift within the party regarding immigration strategy.
The Laken Riley Act and Its Consequences
Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan all confirmed to HuffPost that they maintain their support for voting in favor of the Laken Riley Act early in 2025. This Republican-authored legislation attracted substantial Democratic backing at the time and allowed the Trump administration to dramatically expand mandatory detention of undocumented individuals. Critics argue this law effectively laid the groundwork for the administration's widely criticized nationwide immigration raids that occurred this year.
"It should have been clear to every Democratic lawmaker that voting for this bill was going to have consequences," said Will Dempster, a former U.S. Senate staffer and spokesperson for the National Immigration Law Center's advocacy arm, the Immigrant Justice Fund. "It was really the first indicator that we had that Trump was going to pursue an authoritarian agenda on the backs of immigrants. It was foreseeable. And I think it does call into question their judgment on this important issue."
Growing Democratic Divisions
While these three senators defend their positions, a growing number of other Democrats are distancing themselves from the legislation. Rep. April McClain Delaney of Maryland, Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia have all disavowed the measure. The most prominent apology has come from Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, who unexpectedly reversed her position after facing intense criticism from her more progressive opponent in Minnesota's Democratic Senate primary.
Craig explained her initial vote in a Minnesota Star-Tribune op-ed, noting that respected Democratic leaders had reached similar conclusions. "Democrats like Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff — leaders I deeply respect — all came to the same conclusion" to support the bill, she wrote. However, she later added, "It is true that the president is not using any laws to carry out these sweeping immigration raids that have terrorized Minnesotans, but it's also become clear that supporting any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision. And I regret my vote."
Legislative Details and Political Context
The Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia student killed by an undocumented immigrant in 2024, was approved by Congress with bipartisan support. The legislation significantly lowered the threshold for mandatory detention of migrants from requiring conviction of a crime to simply being accused of one, including offenses such as theft and burglary. This change raised substantial due process concerns and enabled prolonged detention of individuals who might ultimately be innocent.
Led by encouragement from Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, twelve Senate Democrats joined every Senate Republican in backing the bill on the day Trump took office in 2025. This bipartisan support reflected a belief among many Democrats that the party needed to adopt a tougher stance on illegal immigration following Trump's electoral victory.
Senators' Justifications and Political Calculations
Senator Kelly told HuffPost he doesn't regret his vote, distinguishing between the legislation itself and Trump's subsequent immigration raids that resulted in two American deaths and the detention of numerous immigrants without criminal records. "They've been focused on rounding up people who haven't done anything illegally and are contributing to society in a positive way, and you know, two dead Americans and others who had their rights violated," Kelly said. "It's also not what the president said he was going to do."
Senator Gallego explained that Arizona voters supported targeting violent criminals but argued the Trump administration "supercharged" deportation processes beyond what was promised. Trump won Arizona by more than 5 percentage points in 2024, while Gallego simultaneously won election to the Senate, outperforming Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and defeating Republican candidate Kari Lake. "The reason I won is because I understood what the voter wanted," Gallego said. "The voter wanted to make sure that there could be deportations of criminals, especially in very dire circumstances."
Senator Slotkin rejected the notion that the Laken Riley Act provided Trump special authorization for his immigration crackdown. "It is clear to me that President Trump sees ICE as his personal law enforcement unit that he can deploy into city streets, into airports, into detention centers, wherever he wants, and I don't think he was looking for permission from the Congress to do all that," Slotkin stated. "So I'm just not sure that Donald Trump needs legislated permission to do what he's doing."
Broader Party Dynamics and Future Implications
The Democratic backpedaling illustrates ongoing struggles to formulate a cohesive party-wide message on immigration, even as they've successfully resisted additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Following Trump's victory, many Democrats believed the party needed tougher immigration positions, but harsh tactics deployed by immigration agents in Chicago and Minnesota have shifted public opinion.
Democratic unity has strengthened regarding immigration heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Congressional Democrats refused for weeks to provide additional ICE funding, resulting in a partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown after Republicans declined to implement reforms such as requiring federal agents to wear body cameras and remove masks during public interactions.
House Republicans ultimately agreed to fund all DHS agencies except ICE, handing Democrats a tactical victory. However, it remains uncertain whether Democrats will achieve their ultimate goal of codifying ICE reforms into law, as Republicans plan to fund ICE independently for three years through a special budget process that won't require Democratic votes.
Looking toward the 2028 presidential campaign, Dempster emphasized that Democrats need proactive immigration proposals rather than merely opposing Trump policies. "The people who voted for the Laken Riley Act, they need to take extra care to be able to take ownership for what they got wrong," he said. "But not only that, it's also an opportunity for anybody running for president to articulate what they're for. We've had a broken immigration system for decades... and anybody running for president not only needs to be able to critique Trump's anti-immigrant assault, but they also need to provide something proactive."
