President Joe Biden has been under scrutiny for using the term “illegal” at last night’s State of the Union to describe people who have come into the country illegally.
Biden responded to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who was wearing a shirt with the phrase “say her name” in reference to college student Laken Riley who was murdered by an illegal alien in Georgia.
Greene heckled Biden during the speech and essentially forced the president to speak, off the cuff, about the murdered college student.
“Lincoln Riley!” Biden said. “An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right. But how many of the thousands of people being killed by illegals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you having lost children myself. I understand.”
Biden continued on with his speech mentioning things like amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants and the Democrat-backed border bill — which recently failed due to the fact that it did not actually secure the border — but his use of the term “illegal” would come back to haunt him after the speech. It was one of the only times Biden left the script, and it did not go well for him.
That Democrats are more upset with Joe Biden saying "illegal" than they are about Laken Riley (not Coach Lincoln Riley, Biden) being murdered by an illegal immigrant tells you everything you need to know about Democrats.
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) March 8, 2024
“He probably should have used a different word, and I think he would know that,” said Biden-Harris 2024 campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu on CNN. “But what you should notice about that is not that he made a small mistake. The big thing that he did right — and this is what this president always does — is express empathy to people.”
Biden used the word to refer to Venezuelan Jose Ibarra. Ibarra entered the country illegally and then committed another crime when he murdered Laken Riley.
Other Democrats were less kind about Biden’s choice of words last night.
“As a proud immigrant, I’m extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal,’” Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) said.
As a proud immigrant, I'm extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word "illegal."
— Congressman Chuy García (@RepChuyGarcia) March 8, 2024
“Let me be clear: No human being is illegal,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) claimed.
Let me be clear: No human being is illegal.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 8, 2024
“I wish he hadn’t engaged with Marjorie Taylor Greene and used the word illegal,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told the Associated Press.
Republicans have attacked Biden on his border policies as much or more than any other policy. Many Republicans even wore pins that read, “Stop the Biden Border Crisis” to the speech.
