Laken Riley immigration bill will cost $83B, Democrats project

Senate Democrats are warning that the Laken Riley Act is unworkable in its current form, requiring tens of billions in new spending and enforcement resources that are “not feasible” to detain undocumented immigrants accused of theft.

The Democratic staff of the Appropriations Committee estimates the legislation would cost an $83 billion over the next three years to implement, according to a message sent to party senators on Monday and obtained by Semafor. It’s a curveball that arrives at a critical time for the legislation, which is close to passing the Senate and going to President-elect Donald Trump’s desk shortly after he takes office.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimates that implementing the bill would cost $26 billion in the first year of enactment, “an increase of 174 percent from their current funded level” and many times larger than their previous $3.2 billion estimate, according to the Democratic memo. The updated figure includes 118,500 more detention beds, 40,000 more jobs at ICE and a 25 percent increase in removal flights.

“The requirements in the bill are not possible to meet due to resource limitations and lack of supply for beds and transportation capabilities,” the memo reads.

Republicans say ICE is already underfunded and much of the funding it says it needs for the bill would be spent on executing current removal orders — not the additional deportations that the Laken Riley Act would require. In a statement for this story, lead GOP sponsor Katie Britt, R-Ala., said the data Democrats are using is old and that their projection of 800,000 potential ICE detentions “is evidence of why the Laken Riley Act is needed — not a reason to oppose the bill. ”

“It has been congressional Democrats who have long fought giving ICE more funding,” Britt said. “If what we’re hearing is that Senate Democrats have reversed course on this, we’re elated.”

The Senate advanced the legislation on Monday evening, and Democrats are seeking now to amend it; it’s not clear how many will support final passage if changes aren’t made. Meanwhile, Republicans are trying to send Trump more money for the border sometime this winter or spring – some or most of which would likely end up funding the bill if it passes.

If Democrats ultimately withhold their support on a final vote, it would be for reasons beyond cost. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is urging his colleagues to tighten the bill’s detention standard, which now requires the removal of undocumented immigrants who are arrested on charges that later get dropped.

That change would shrink the bill’s scope and likely also its cost, although there’s no sign Republicans would go along.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said she will not support the final bill in its current form despite voting to advance it. She told Semafor that “the bottom line on a bill like this is, we want our country to be safe and we want it to be done right.”