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.

The GOP-led Laken Riley Act defeated the legislative filibuster on Thursday, effectively ensuring it will pass and become law.

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

The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly cleared a key procedural hurdle toward passing the Laken Riley Act, a bill aimed at curbing crime by migrants, in the first vote of the year by the chamber. Senators cleared the first vote 84 to 9,