Washington DC - The US Senate on Thursday pressed forward with the controversial Laken Riley Act, an anti-immigrant bill mandating the imprisonment of any non-US national charged with theft.

The Senate voted 84-9 in favor of the legislation, named after a 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student who was allegedly murdered by a person without documentation.

More than enough Democrats joined Republicans to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to avoid a filibuster, while Democratic Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Ruben Gallego of Arizona have officially signed on as co-sponsors.

The bill passed out of the House on Tuesday on a 264-159 vote, with 48 Democrats joining Republicans in favor of the measure.

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The Laken Riley Act would require immigration officers to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants suspected of minor theft of $100 or more – even before they are convicted. It would also expand state attorney generals' authority, allowing them to sue the federal government over alleged failures to enforce immigration policy.

The legislation must go for a final vote before passing in the Senate. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he opted to advance the bill in order to have debate and offer amendments to the text.

Immigrants' rights advocates have warned the bill is designed to facilitate President-elect Donald Trump's pro-deportation agenda and will lead to a worsening of the US' already severe mass incarceration crisis without meaningfully addressing public safety.

Despite Trump's rabid fear mongering, research indicates that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the US.