The bill, which would require federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants arrested for theft-related crimes, was the first to be voted on by the newly installed Republican-controlled Senate.

The Senate cleared the 60-vote threshold to begin debate on a GOP priority, with Democrats backing it as the party recalibrates politically on immigration. Final passage is still uncertain.

More than half the U.S. Senate's Democrats joined with Republicans on Thursday to advance a bill that would require the federal government to detain migrants living in the country illegally who are suspected of crimes,

The new Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed its first bill Tuesday, the Laken Riley Act, named for the 22-year-old Georgia nursing school student killed by a Venezuelan immigrant living in the country without legal permission.

The Laken Riley Act cleared its first hurdle in the Senate on Thursday after Democrats overwhelmingly crossed the aisle to vote in favor of proceeding to debate the Republican-led bill that would crack down on illegal immigration.