The Georgia student's death has taken center stage in Washington's battle over immigration, as former President Trump and his allies lean into the issue to attack President Biden and Democrats across the border.
President Trump, whose main issue is border security, has repeatedly criticized Biden's policies regarding the death of Laken Riley, 22.
Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University's Athens campus, was found dead last Thursday in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus after her roommate reported that she had not returned from a run. A 26-year-old Venezuelan national named Jose Ibarra was arrested and charged with murder in connection with her death.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Ybarra entered the country illegally from Mexico in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, and was detained and released for further processing.
“A new category of immigration crime is emerging, and it's going to be tougher than violent crime and criminality as we know it,” Trump said in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week. ” he said.
Democrats argue that immigration and crime issues should not be confused and have criticized Republicans for linking Riley's death to Biden's border issues.
A series of papers from the Cato Institute found that immigrants, including illegal immigrants, commit murder at lower rates than mainland-born Americans.
Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) said it's normal to feel “feelings of outrage” after a violent crime, but it shouldn't lead to broader policy changes.
“I think the important thing to focus on is that no one case should shape the entire immigration policy. There are so many different dimensions, including the economic choices of whether to bring prosperity to the world,” she said at a briefing. Interview on CNN's “Erin Burnett Outfront” on Monday.
The White House and Democrats have also sharply criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and other Republicans for defeating a bipartisan Senate bill aimed at strengthening border security.
Republicans opposed to the compromise argued that it didn't go far enough, but the White House said President Trump and the Republicans were politicizing the border bill to prevent the government from actually taking steps to strengthen border security. I'm leaning towards the argument that it was a hindrance.
Trump and Republicans see political advantage in highlighting Riley's death as emblematic of border chaos.
Trump and Biden visited spots near the border on Thursday, but noted that the former president called Riley's parents the day before and directly criticized Biden for bringing Ybarra into the country.
“I spoke to her parents yesterday. They are incredible people who are incredibly devastated,” he said.
Many Republican officials, from Trump allies such as Sen. Tim Scott, R.S.C., to Republican officials who have clashed with the former president, such as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, have weighed in on the student's death and immigration policy. It is claimed that it connects the Too generous.
Kemp, who clashed with President Trump over the governor's opposition to overturning the state's 2020 election results, claimed the country had a “nightmare” of “mass immigration.”
“This is inexcusable given that the Biden administration has failed to seriously address this crisis and continues to ignore calls for meaningful policy change that governors like myself have made for more than two years. That's great,” he said.
Even as investigations continue into what exactly happened, the Georgia incident points to a dramatic narrative for President Trump.
“The more you can show faces, especially the faces of children and young people, and connect them to policy, whether it's good or bad, it's going to have a bigger impact,” said Jay, a Republican strategist based in Georgia. Deaf,” he said. Williams. “And the more personal you make it, the more effective it will be.”
Republican strategist Brady Smith said the incident would be a “very effective” attack on Republicans.
“This is going to be a particularly noticeable inflection point, and everything else is going to be reminiscent of Laken Riley,” he said.
Polls show that immigration has outpaced the economy as the issue voters are most concerned about. A Gallup poll released Tuesday showed it ranked as the most important for the first time since 2019.
Biden is trying to launch attacks on the border himself. That's one of the reasons Mr. Johnson headed to the border on Thursday, and it's reflected in the White House's attacks on him over the border bill.
Democratic leaders called claims that Biden was responsible for the killing “absurd.” The operative said Kemp was more responsible for the incident as the governor overseeing the state's citizens.
“I didn't know Joe Biden was a police officer in Athens, Georgia,” the operative said. “Why are they not responsible for what happens to illegal immigrants? Why are they not responsible for their crimes?”
Republicans have often argued in the past that allowing migrants to continue crossing the border would only increase the likelihood of crime and potential attacks on U.S. soil.
However, some studies have found that illegal immigrants are no more likely to commit other crimes than U.S. citizens.
Cato analyzed numbers from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). That's because the agency tracks the immigration status of people arrested and convicted in the state. DPS numbers from 2015 to 2019 consistently show that undocumented immigrants have lower homicide rates.
“Very few people are murderers, and illegal immigrants are statistically less likely to be murderers. Still, some illegal immigrants do commit murder, and that statistical fact is less likely to be a murderer than a victim.” “It offers no comfort to their families. More importantly, no one should expect statistics to comfort those affected by violent crime,” wrote Alex Nowras, author of the Cato paper. There is.
Williams, a Republican strategist, said the specifics of the case further strengthen the party's case, given that Ybarra had been arrested in New York City several months earlier.
ICE said Ybarra was charged with injury to a child under 17 and a violation of his motor vehicle license, but New York authorities released him before immigration authorities could take him into custody.
Democrats point to Rep. Tom Suozzi's victory in New York's 3rd House special election last month as an example of how they can still win races on immigration.
Mr. Suozzi made his position on immigration clear this month, following a successful campaign challenging his Republican opponent on the basis of his opposition to the bipartisan Senate border bill, which Mr. Trump also opposed. and flipped the Democratic Party's seat.
“We need to tackle this issue head on, just like Tom Suozzi did,” the operative said.
Brett Samuels contributed.
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