President Joe Biden is facing disappointment and anger from some allies for calling the suspect in the killing of a Georgia nursing student an “illegal” during his State of the Union speech
President Joe Biden faced disappointment and anger from some allies Friday for calling the suspect in the killing of a Georgia nursing student an “illegal” during his State of the Union speech. Other Democrats backed him as better on immigration issues than former President Donald Trump, his likely rival in November’s election.
The moment occurred during an exchange in which Biden pressed Republicans to pass a bipartisan border security deal that fell apart after Trump opposed it. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a stalwart Trump ally, then shouted at the president to say the name of Laken Riley, the Georgia woman killed last month, adding she was killed “by an illegal.”
“By an illegal, that’s right,” Biden responded immediately, before appearing to ask how many people are being killed by “legals.”
Referring to people who arrived or are living in the U.S. illegally as “illegals” was once common but is far less so today, particularly among Democrats who more fully embraced immigrant rights’ issues during Trump’s presidency.
Biden campaigned four years ago against many of Trump’s immigration policies and changing official guidelines to stop using the term “illegal aliens,” but he is now pushing for new border restrictions in the wake of record numbers of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, straining federal authorities and Democratic-run cities forced to open emergency shelters. Biden has adopted some of Trump’s own language, saying he’d “shut down the border” if given the power, which he also brought up again in Thursday’s address.
His campaign on Friday argued the incident would not affect his efforts to reach Latino voters and other communities of color that are part of the Democratic base. Several allies on Capitol Hill defended him even as they criticized his use of the term.
“It was an unfortunate choice of words, but I think he could easily correct it,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
