Senator Coons Introduces Amendment Aiming to Prevent Wasteful Lawsuits and Improve Public Safety under the Laken Riley Act

U.S. Senator Chris Coons introduced an amendment to the Laken Riley Act that would strike a section that, according to his office, weakens the federal government’s authority over our immigration laws. The Amendment would have removed a provision inviting state attorneys general of both parties to sue the federal government when they disagree with detention decisions of individuals. By a vote of 46-49, the Senate did not adopt Senator Coons’ amendment. Senator Coons says his amendment would have addressed concerns about our immigration system and public safety raised by both Democrats and Republicans regarding Section 3 of the Laken Riley Act–adding that section 3 would weaken long-established due processes and take oversight away from the federal government.

Additional Information from the Office of Senator Coons:

It would also allow state attorneys general to sue the federal government over individual decisions made by agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

“I respect that colleagues on both sides of the aisle have expressed their intention to vote for the Laken Riley bill and to advance it,” said Senator Coons. “I have not yet made any such commitment out of concern about the unintended consequences of several provisions of this bill. … [W]e should not have the division and frankly, ultimately, the chaos, in the enforcement of our immigration laws that would likely result from having a raft of lawsuits brought by state attorneys general in courts all over the country, testing and challenging almost literally every detention decision. I believe it is possible for this act to be improved, for it to advance public safety, and for it to make a contribution to the country, and it is my hope that the amendments being offered will be taken up and passed.”

Senator Coons: Amidst real resource constraints, unpredictable migration patterns, and fluctuating diplomatic sensitivities, our federal law enforcement officers at ICE and CBP make thousands of complex decisions day-in and day-out about how to deal with interior enforcement, with border encounters, who to detain, and who to release. And it’s because these decisions involve so many complex factors that the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized [that] the federal government is and should be the ultimate authority on enforcement of our immigration laws. Section 3, however, would mark a sea change by inviting every state attorney general to sue whenever they disagree with even an individual-level federal decision regarding detention and removal. This could create uncertainty or even chaos by encouraging conflicting lawsuits brought in different states in different courts.

Senator Coons: I will remind my colleagues: This provision may have been drafted when the view was that Republican state attorneys general would sue a Democratic administration to move closer towards the enforcement vision that they prioritize. Roughly half of the state attorneys general belong to each political party. I hope that my colleagues who have reflected upon the consequences of this provision will conclude that we should not have the division and frankly, ultimately, the chaos, in the enforcement of our immigration laws that would likely result from having a raft of lawsuits brought by state attorneys general in courts all over the country, testing and challenging almost literally every detention decision. I believe it is possible for this act to be improved, for it to advance public safety, and for it to make a contribution to the country, and it is my hope that the amendments being offered will be taken up and passed.

U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) today introduced an amendment to the Laken Riley Act that would strike a section that weakens the federal government’s authority over our immigration laws.