Sorensen explains why he backed Republican-led push to pass Laken Riley Act

Congressman Eric Sorensen is among 48 Democrats who joined all House Republicans voting in favor of the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal immigration authorities to detain undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes before a conviction.

Those crimes include theft-related charges, including shoplifting.

The Laken Riley Act was named for a 22-year-old nursing student murdered in Georgia last year by a Venezuelan man who entered the country illegally. The suspect, Jose Ibarra, had a warrant issued for his arrest after failing to appear for a hearing in his Georgia shoplifting case. Riley was murdered two months later.

Federal immigration officials said Ibarra was also previously arrested in New York City, but released by local officials there before a detainer could be issued.

Sorensen, a Democrat from Moline, also supported the bill when it came up in the last Congress. He said illegal immigration is something his constituents in the 17th Congressional District bring up often.

"I am so concerned with what's happening at the southern border. I believe that we need to do more, but addressing the problem, it has to be done in a way that includes both securing our border and fixing the broken immigration system," he told reporters on a virtual conference call Wednesday.

The legislation died last year in the Democrat-controlled Senate, but Republicans now control both houses of Congress and will control the White House in two weeks. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it already has picked up a few Democratic co-sponsors.

Some of Sorensen's Democratic colleagues claim the bill would rob migrants of due process.

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, said undocumented migrants convicted of a crime in the U.S. are already subject to deportation. He called the legislation a "gotcha" vote by Republicans.

The American Civil Liberties Union also opposes the bill.

"It will force immigration authorities to detain individuals accused of nonviolent theft offenses like shoplifting regardless of whether or not law enforcement even deems them as a threat,” said Sarah Mehta, ACLU senior border policy counsel in a statement. “Mandating mass detention will make us less safe, sapping resources and diverting taxpayer money away from addressing public safety needs."

Sorensen said he also supported the bipartisan Dignity Act that would have overhauled the U.S. immigration system, as well as legislation to increase funding for U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement to combat the flow of fentanyl into the country. But he said other changes are needed, too.

"We also have to understand that our court system cannot handle everything, and that if someone does illegally come to this country and perpetrate such a heinous crime that they're not going to be able to tie up our court system in the United States. Those are the people that aren't doing the service to our economy and to our nation, and that's why I voted yes," he said.

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, also supports the legislation.