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.

A significant number of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to advance a GOP-led bill to require the detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes – a key step that puts the legislation on the verge of passage.

While attending nursing school at the University of Georgia, Riley was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant.