The Laken Riley Act on Monday cleared a second procedural hurdle in the Senate as talk turns to an amendment push by Democrats in order to potentially make alterations to the bill. 

Senators voted 82-10 on the motion to proceed to the legislation, allowing the chamber to begin debate.

The legislation would mandate federal detention of immigrants without legal status accused of theft, burglary and other related crimes.

It cleared an initial hurdle on Thursday by an overwhelming 84-9 margin. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted alongside 32 other senators who caucus with the Democrats on Thursday.

But where the bill goes from here is unclear. Schumer said on the floor ahead of the vote that he was hopeful that Republicans would be open to Democratic amendments. 

“We’re going to ask our Republican colleagues to allow for debate and votes on amendments. I hope my Republican colleagues will allow for it,” Schumer said, calling for a “robust debate” and opportunities to “improve this bill.”

“This issue is very important, Americans deserve for us to debate the issues seriously, including by considering amendments from the Democratic side,” Schumer added.

Democrats have not yet said what amendments they intend to propose, but Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters he is taking Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) at his word that amendments will be allowed.

Durbin acknowledged the concerns Democrats have in handing Republicans an out-of-the-gate win on immigration.

“That’s why they introduced that bill. It’s a ‘gotcha’ bill,” he said.

“But Thune has said he wants to have amendments and try for bipartisanship. I hope he does,” Durbin said.

Riley, a Georgia college student, was killed in February by a Venezuelan migrant who had previously been arrested for shoplifting prior to the attack and, subsequently, released on parole. 

At least seven Senate Democrats have indicated they would vote for the bill in its current form: Sens. John Fetterman (Pa.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.) and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.).

Fetterman and Gallego co-sponsored the legislation.

But while a large number of Democrats have voted to advance the bill, Durbin was not sure whether enough would side with Republicans to get it across the finish line.

“I don’t know,” he said. “There are some Democrats supporting it, but I don’t know if they have [the] 7 or 8 they need.”

The Democratic support comes after the 2024 campaign, during which the party often found itself on the back foot on the issue and was pilloried repeatedly by Republicans who argued Democrats were too soft on illegal migration.

However, a number of Democrats have expressed issues with the bill in its current form. They are specifically concerned with the power it hands to state attorneys general and the requirement of detainment following arrest instead of a conviction.

“The Laken Riley Act needs to be fixed,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said. “It does not work on paper right now. It creates more problems than it solves and it creates enormous chaos in the immigration system.”

Thune said on Monday that this is an opportunity for Democrats to be on the right side of the issue. 

“I never put anything in the bank when it comes to dealing with Democrats, but it seems like at least … that they have concluded that they are on the wrong side of this issue,” Thune told radio host Hugh Hewitt about the possibilities of winning the requisite votes from across the aisle. 

“We intend to put them on the record one way or the other. And if they want to defend criminals who are in this country illegally, who are committing criminal acts against American citizens, in this case a horrific murder, that’s their decision to make,” he continued. “But I’ve got to believe there are seven Democrats out there that are going to end up voting with us and turn this into law.”

Republicans will also be getting a boost in numbers on Tuesday, when Sen.-elect Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) is set to be sworn in, putting Senate Republicans on the doorstep of their 53-47 majority. 

Vice President-elect JD Vance’s resignation from the Senate last week put the conference temporarily down one active voter. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is expected to name Vance’s replacement in the coming days. 

Once the full Senate GOP conference is in place, they would only need seven Democrats to side with them to pass the bill in its current form. 

The House last week passed the bill with 48 Democrats voting alongside every present Republican.