Progressives Furious at Biden for Describing Laken Riley’s Murder Suspect as ‘Illegal’: ‘Incendiary and Wrong’

Progressive Democrats are furious at President Joe Biden for accurately describing the man suspected of murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.

Biden addressed Riley’s death during his State of the Union address Thursday evening after he was heckled by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) and misstated her name in the process.

“Lincoln (sic) Riley, an innocent young women who was killed by an illegal, that’s right,” Biden said while holding up a pin with her name on it. “To her parents I say, my heart goes out to you having lost children myself, I understand,” he added.

Progressive lawmakers led by Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) objected to Biden’s description of Riley’s murder suspect as an “illegal,” despite the factual accuracy of Biden’s statement.

“Let me be clear: No human being is illegal,” Omar said on X.

Venezuela migrant Jose Ibarra, 22, is facing numerous murder and assault charges for brutally murdering Riley while she was jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus. Ibarra previously had run-ins with law enforcement after he crossed the border in September 2022 and was paroled near El Paso, Texas. New York City police officers arrested Ibarra in September 2023 for acting to injure a minor but he was released before ICE could issue a detainer.

Representatives Chuy Garcia (D., Ill.) and Joaquin Castro (D., Texas.) joined Omar Thursday night in criticizing the president for his rhetoric.

“As a proud immigrant, I’m extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal,’” Garcia said. Castro accused Biden of “incendiary and wrong” rhetoric and compared Biden’s words to former president Donald Trump.

Former house speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said on CNN Thursday night Biden should have used “undocumented” instead of “illegal” to describe Ibarra, but argued that the description is “not a big thing.” News outlets have similarly struggled to accurately identify Ibarra as an illegal immigrant in their coverage of Riley’s murder.

Jose Ibarra’s brother Diego, 29, also an illegal immigrant, is facing federal prosecution for possessing a fake green card. On Thursday, a judge ordered Diego Ibarra to remain in detention until trial. Federal prosecutors believe Diego Ibarra is linked to a Venezuela gang responsible for a wave of violent crime in New York City.

President Biden went on to suggest that illegal immigrants would be less likely to pay smugglers if they are deported quickly and called for Republicans to pass the bipartisan border deal negotiated in the senate. Republicans rejected the bipartisan agreement after conservatives criticized the deal as insufficient to stem the tide of illegal migration.

House lawmakers passed on a bipartisan vote Thursday the Laken Riley Act requiring federal law enforcement to detain illegal immigrants charged with crimes committed in addition to their illegal entry into the United States.