# S. 5 (119th): Laken Riley Act This act requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S

Laken Riley Act This act requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person. The act also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement. Under this act, DHS must detain an individual who (1) is unlawfully present in the United States or did not possess the necessary documents when applying for admission; and (2) has been charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admits to having committed acts that constitute the essential elements of the above crimes. The act also authorizes state governments to sue for injunctive relief over certain immigration-related decisions or alleged failures by the federal government if the decision or failure caused the state or its residents harm, including financial harm of more than $100. Specifically, the state government may sue the federal government over a decision to release a non-U.S. national from custody; failure to fulfill requirements relating to inspecting individuals seeking admission into the United States, including requirements related to asylum interviews; failure to fulfill a requirement to stop issuing visas to nationals of a country that unreasonably denies or delays acceptance of nationals of that country; violation of limitations on immigration parole, such as the requirement that parole be granted only on a case-by-case basis; or failure to detain an individual who has been ordered removed from the United States.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: criminal_charges. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: criminal_justice. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: detention. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: due_process. Category: justice_truth. Lane tag: general equity.
Lane: immigration. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: public_safety. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: state_standing. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: theft. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 23: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Roll 2: On the Motion to Proceed S. 5. Vote type: cloture.
Roll 5: On the Cloture Motion S. 5. Vote type: cloture.
Roll 7: On Passage of the Bill S. 5. Vote type: final_passage.
Roll 1: On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 5. Vote type: cloture.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The measure pursues legitimate public-safety and rule-of-law goods by targeting serious crimes committed by unlawfully present persons, but it combines these goods with real concerns: mandatory detention keyed to arrest or charge rather than conviction, and a broad state right to sue over federal enforcement decisions. The text does not directly advance moral harm, nor does it clearly restrain one, so a mixed classification fits the balance of prudential and procedural considerations.
Theological note: The bill touches the civil duty to protect the public from violent and property crime and to enforce lawful borders, which Scripture grounds in the sword-bearing office of civil authority and in the protection of neighbors. It also raises equity concerns about mandatory detention on arrest or charge without conviction and about the expansion of state litigation against federal immigration decisions, and it engages the duty to treat sojourners justly under law. These are issues of prudential governance and procedural fairness, not a clear direct advancement of moral evil, so the measure is best weighed as a mixed matter requiring careful judgment.

## Recorded votes

Roll 23: On Passage. Yea 263 · Nay 156 · Other 14.
Roll 2: On the Motion to Proceed S. 5. Yea 82 · Nay 10 · Other 6.
Roll 5: On the Cloture Motion S. 5. Yea 61 · Nay 35 · Other 3.
Roll 7: On Passage of the Bill S. 5. Yea 64 · Nay 35 · Other 0.
Roll 1: On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 5. Yea 84 · Nay 9 · Other 6.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/s-5-119/