WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate plans to pass a bill to crack down on illegal immigration in the coming days and hopes to send it to incoming President Donald Trump next week as his first legislative victory.

But Senate debate on the bill has been dragging on this week, with two major hurdles still facing passage of the Lacken-Riley Act, which would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain people accused, arrested and charged with crimes. or a person convicted of committing an act of "theft, burglary, theft or shoplifting."

The first hurdle is getting 60 votes in the Senate to break a filibuster and end debate, meaning Democrats win at least seven votes — and more if they vote when Florida or Ohio have open seats. That could depend on whether Republicans allow more amendments, which leaders are being selective about as they aim to vote on final passage on Monday.

"There are Democrats who are trying to kill this bill," Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso told NBC News. “Republicans will not destroy or weaken this life-saving bill.”

The second hurdle is that the House must vote on the bill again after the Senate.

The Senate voted 70-25 to approve an amendment proposed by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to add assault on a law enforcement officer to the list of crimes that trigger mandatory detention for unauthorized immigration. The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the preliminary bill 264-159 last week with the support of 48 Democrats.

Republicans also want to vote on an amendment from Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, that would require ICE officers to detain undocumented immigrants who are arrested or charged with causing death or bodily harm.

The new amendments would also increase the final price of the bill.

In an assessment ICE submitted to Congress last year, officials projected the cost of enforcing the Laken Riley Act, named for the Georgia nursing school student murdered by an undocumented immigrant last year, would be $3.2 billion. But Democratic appropriators pushed back, adding input from ICE officials to estimate the cost in the first three years alone at $83 billion, according to a document obtained by Democratic sources.

“In addition to the high costs, (the Department of Homeland Security) is unable to comply with the regulations as written. The documents state that the personnel, detention facilities and transportation requirements needed to enforce the bill will not be available in the short term.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who sponsored the Senate bill, accused Democrats of "using projections of the 800,000 criminal illegal aliens who would be affected by the bill in the first year," which they called Based on briefing with ICE officials in March 2024.

“We are prepared to provide ICE with the resources it needs to properly enforce federal laws and protect American families through the appropriations and reconciliation process,” she said, referring to two potential avenues for additional funding.

Driven by a rightward shift in immigration politics, many Democrats in competitive House districts voted for the legislation, while some swing state senators like Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego and Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, also voted for the bill. co-sponsored it.

But while many Senate Democrats voted to begin debate on the bill, some said they would not support final passage unless the Senate passed some amendments to the bill, such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. Baldwin). It's unclear whether it will eventually get 60 votes.

Even some supporters of the bill say it could be improved: Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., told NBC News the bill should be changed to avoid targeting people who are merely accused of Not immigrants who have been convicted of) crimes. She also called for the exclusion of "Dreamers," undocumented people brought to the country as children.

Democrats are urging Republicans to vote on additional amendments, but it's difficult to determine whether they will get any votes.

Pro-immigration activists blasted the bill as a Trojan horse for conservatives to upend the system, deny immigrants due process and empower hardline state officials like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to reshape federal immigration enforcement.

“It’s hard to overstate how shaky the Democratic leadership is right now,” said Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of the progressive group Indivisible. “Republicans are going to do this over and over again. They’re going to package something up. into a bill in which they would dismantle constitutional protections and provide support for extremism. Democrats need to stop scoring for Trump.”

They point to a provision in the Laken-Riley Act that allows state attorneys general to sue the federal government "if the state or its residents suffer harm, including economic harm in excess of $100," after the federal government allegedly failed to enforce Immigration Law.

An amendment proposed by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., to remove that language failed Wednesday, with Republicans rejecting it in a 46-49 vote.

If Democrats don't get any of the changes they demand, they will be forced to decide whether to swallow the bill or filibuster it before final passage.

"Republicans seem to have decided they're not interested in improving this bill," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.