The proposal was passed with significant support from Democrats, alongside Republicans, and was approved by a vote of 263 in favor and 156 against.
The bill, which will be sent to Trump for signing before becoming law, is named after Laken Riley, a Georgia girl who was murdered last year by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. The perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment.
This is expected to be the first of several steps Republicans plan to take in order to strengthen border security and slow the flow of immigrants into the U.S.
The bill was approved by the House of Representatives with 46 Democrats voting in favor along with 217 Republicans. The Senate had previously approved the bill, with the support of 12 Democrats as well.
The law mandates that immigrants suspected of theft or other crimes be arrested, even if they have not been formally charged with a crime.
Trump has made immigration a central issue of his campaign, and Republicans have supported his tough stance on immigration.
Democrats, who supported the bill, stated that they did so because their constituents are also concerned about immigration.
“Americans want us to do something about the border, and I think we would have been under tremendous pressure if we had said we shouldn’t deport criminals,” said moderate Democrat Tom Suozzi, who voted in favor of the bill.
Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, a member of the liberal wing, expressed heartbreak over the fact that so many Democrats supported the legislative proposal.
Pete Aguilar, who leads the Democratic group in the House of Representatives, said there was no deviation from the Democrats’ demand for immigration reform, adding that it was Republicans who have consistently rejected legislative proposals to strengthen border security and modernize regulations.
A year ago, a similar bill passed the House of Representatives with the support of 37 Democrats but failed to pass the then-Democratic Senate.
