Joe Biden Breaks Silence on Laken Riley at SOTU

President Joe Biden broke his silence on the slaying of Laken Riley during his State of the Union address.

"Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. But how many thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself. I understand," Biden said.

The Context

The death of Riley, who was found slain in a wooded area near the University of Georgia last month, has drawn new scrutiny to Biden's immigration policies. Police charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela, in the killing.

Republicans have blamed Biden's immigration policies for her death, arguing he has not done enough to prevent migrants from illegally entering the U.S. amid an increase in asylum-seekers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

What We Know

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who attended the address wearing a Make America Great Again hat, was pushing Biden to say Riley's name during the speech as he addressed immigration issues.

Prior to Biden's speech, she repeatedly said to him, "Laken Riley," to which he responded, "I know how to say the name," and accepted a button from Greene that honored Riley.

Following the interaction, Greene wrote that Biden "refused to SAY HER NAME!" in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

Biden has also faced criticism from Republicans for not saying her name during recent speeches.

Earlier on Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, which if becomes law would require the Department of Homeland Security to "take into custody aliens who have been charged in the United States with theft, and for other purposes." Thirty-seven Democrats joined Republicans in passing the bill in the House.

Views

Semafor politics reporter David Weigel wrote he viewed Biden's remarks as the "first genuinely surprising SOTU [State of the Union] moment in quite some time," in a post to X. He also noted Biden's use of the term "illegal."

"Maybe everybody knows this, but the word "illegal" as a reference to illegal immigrants was struck from the Democratic dictionary many years ago. I was shocked to see him go there to make the case for a bill," he wrote.

Some critics said they believe Biden mispronounced her name, saying "Lincoln Riley," rather than "Laken Riley."

"Joe Biden's policies killed Laken Riley. He finally tried to say her name, but couldn't even say it correctly. It's an absolute disgrace," Greene wrote.

"This was a completely insensitive moment. Lacking in compassion. Just wow ... ," wrote Kaleigh McEnany, former press secretary to ex-President Donald Trump.

What's Next?

Immigration and border security are bound to remain core issues on the presidential campaign trail, as Republicans have continued to criticize Biden after his remarks during the address.

Meanwhile, it remains unknown whether the Democratic-led Senate will pass the Laken Riley Act, which has faced scrutiny from some Democrats.

Update 3/7/24, 10:35 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Correction 3/8/24 8:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correctly reflect Biden's quote. A previous version of this article included the quote as "But how many thousands of people being killed by illegals."