Laken Riley’s Name Botched by Biden at State of the Union

(ProsperNews.net) – President Biden mispronounced the name of a murdered Georgia student during his recent State of the Union address. An illegal alien allegedly beat the 22-year-old to death during her morning jog near the University of Georgia in February, and her death has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate. Laken Riley’s name featured heavily at a later Trump rally near Atlanta, and supporters held up signs saying, “Say Her Name,” after President Biden mistakenly called her “Lincoln Riley” during his annual speech in Washington.

President Biden addressed the young woman’s murder only after Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene shouted out her name during the President’s remarks on immigration. Biden replied stating the wrong name, and adding that she’d been murdered by an “illegal,” before asking how many people had been murdered by “legals.”

Some Democrats later accused the President of using Trump rhetoric by referring to Riley’s alleged murderer as an “illegal,” prompting Biden to apologize.

The day after the Georgia nursing student’s death, police arrested and charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. University of Georgia Police Chief Jeffrey Clark told reporters Ibarra was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, and several other charges. Immigration and Customs Enforcement afterward said the alleged killer entered the US illegally via El Paso, Texas, in 2022. Further reports noted that Ibarra was subject to a bench warrant on shoplifting charges.

In light of the warrant, Republican lawmakers introduced the Laken Riley Act to the House of Representatives, demanding that migrants be detained if charged with offenses including retail theft. Republicans were joined by 37 Democrats in passing the legislation, with 170 voting against.

During the debate, Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia, who introduced the Act, said Biden continues to defend his “atrocious record” even though his open border policies “led directly” to Laken Riley’s murder. “Enough is enough,” Mr. Collins said, before adding that Jose Ibarra was allowed to roam freely throughout America, like millions of others.