Former President Donald Trump traveled to the southern border in Texas on Thursday, where he condemned President Joe Biden’s record on immigration enforcement and blamed him for the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, 22.
“Joe Biden will never say Laken Riley’s name, but we will say it, and we will remember it,” Trump said. “We won’t forget her.”
The former president told how the “beautiful young woman” was “kidnapped and brutally murdered” by an illegal immigrant while she was jogging.
This undated image from Augusta University shows Laken Hope Riley, a nursing student whose body was found Thursday, February 22, 2024, on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.
This photo provided by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office shows Jose Ibarra, 26, on Friday, February 23, 2024.
Officials have charged 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra of Venezuela in Riley’s death.
According to ICE, Ibarra illegally entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released into the United States. He was also arrested in New York in September 2023, but was released before he could be deported.
Riley’s death sent shockwaves through the Athens, Georgia, community as Republicans blamed Biden’s weak border policies for the crime. Trump agreed.
“The monster who incited death is an illegal alien migrant allowed into our country by Crooked Joe Biden and released into our communities,” Trump said.
Trump revealed on Wednesday that he had spoken to Riley’s parents.
“They are incredibly devastated,” he said.
Riley’s father, John Phillips, and her mother, Allyson Phillips, issued a statement mourning their daughter’s death.
‘Laeken was a wonderful daughter, sister, friend and overall person. Her love for the Lord was evident in every aspect of her life. She will be missed every day, but we promise to honor her life as she moves forward in a very big way. way,” the statement read.
Both Trump and Biden traveled to the southern border on Thursday.
Laken Riley, her mother, Allyson Phillips and her father, John
Trump also specifically mentioned the deaths of several other young Americans allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants, accusing the president of having “the blood of countless innocent victims” on his hands.
Both Trump and Biden traveled to the southern border on Thursday to highlight the ongoing migrant crisis, blaming each other for allowing it to continue.
Biden made no mention of Riley’s death during his remarks Thursday but blamed Trump for helping sabotage a bipartisan deal in the Senate in February to fund more resources at the border.
“This is what I would say to Mr. Trump,” Biden said. “Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or I will join you in telling Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together. Let’s get it done instead of playing politics.”