The leader of the Republican deputies demanded on Sunday an
“apology”
from Joe Biden after the murder of an American student, for which an illegal Venezuelan was arrested.
This affair has put the subject of immigration back at the center of the presidential campaign.
The 81-year-old Democrat
“belittles himself in front of his base and shows deference to a man who does not deserve it.
This man is an illegal immigrant who brutally killed Laken Riley
,” wrote the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, on Sunday on X (Twitter).
This 22-year-old nursing student was killed in February while taking her morning jog in a park at the University of Georgia (southeast).
Police arrested an illegal Venezuelan national, accusing him of murder and kidnapping.
Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, see this as a consequence of Joe Biden's immigration policy, considered too lax in the face of the numerous arrivals at the border with Mexico.
“Say his name”
Before taking the podium for his State of the Union speech on Thursday to Congress, Joe Biden briefly found himself face to face with a Trumpist elected official from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
She had given the Democrat a badge bearing this inscription:
“Say his name: Laken Riley
. ”
The president, who unless there is a surprise will face Donald Trump in the November presidential election, brandished the badge during his speech.
“To his parents, I say: my heart goes out to you,”
he said.
He had mentioned, with a pronunciation error,
“Lincoln Riley”
, an innocent young woman killed by an illegal immigrant. Joe Biden had however promised that unlike his rival, he would not
“demonize”
migrants.
Read alsoIn the United States, Republicans torpedo a law they called for on immigration
The use of the term
“illegal”
, generally used by the right, had sparked protests within the Democratic Party itself.
An elected Democrat from Texas, Joaquin Castro, for example, criticized
“inflammatory and false rhetoric”
on X (Twitter) .
“I shouldn't have talked about an illegal immigrant, he's undocumented
,” Joe Biden said on Saturday in an interview with MSNBC, comments which restarted the debate with a vengeance.
Border
Donald Trump, who was in Georgia on Saturday, just like his Democratic rival, said:
“Biden should apologize for apologizing to the killer
. ”
“Laken Riley would be alive today if Joe Biden had not deliberately and deviously carved up the borders
,” said the 77-year-old tycoon, who in a recent speech accused migrants of
“poisoning the blood”
of the country .
The president
“should apologize to the family
,” added Mike Johnson.
Republicans are blocking in Congress a vast reform of immigration policy wanted by Joe Biden, and which he presents as the
“toughest”
in decades.
The Democrats see this blockage as the influence of Donald Trump, who does not want to give a political victory to his Democratic rival on such a sensitive subject.
Also read “Race for the White House: Trump, the candidate who is gambling with his life”
The text provides for restrictions in the system for processing asylum applications, a brake when crossings to the south exceed 5,000 people per week, and recruitment for the border police.
A record level of 302,000 interceptions was reached in December at the border with Mexico, falling in January to 176,000, according to official statistics.
At the end of the year, the border police reported some 10,000 crossings every day, an even higher rate than in previous months.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump each visited the United States border with Mexico on February 29, confirming, if necessary, the central place of immigration in the campaign.