By Luis De Jesus
08 Mar 2024, 21:09 PM EST
In an unexpected moment during the State of the Union Address on Thursday, Republican Senator Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called for the death penalty for a Venezuelan migrant suspected of murdering young Laken Riley in Georgia, confronted the president Joe Biden and demanded that he mention the victim, a nursing student at Augusta University.
Laken Riley’s death has become a symbol for Republicans, who criticize the Democratic administration’s handling of the US-Mexico border amid a record surge of migrants.
During his speech, Joe Biden addressed border security and called on Congress to pass legislation to secure the border and modernize the country’s immigration laws. At that point, Senator Greene intervened and demanded that the president mention Laken Riley’s name, she posted The Associated Press.
Under pressure, Biden responded by naming the young university student and spoke briefly about her death and also mentioned the personal trauma that the family is going through. He therefore urged Congress to work on a border security compromise, even calling on his predecessor Donald Trump to stop fighting any border agreement.
The death of Laken Riley has led to an intense debate over immigration, with Republicans using various tools, including the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, to question Biden’s border management, the news agency highlights.
Hours before the speech, the House voted to pass the Laken Riley Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain unauthorized immigrants accused of theft.
Authorities arrested José Ibarra, who entered the United States irregularly and was allowed to stay to continue with his immigration case, for being the main suspect in the murder of the student, in addition to other crimes.
In the midst of the investigations, the authorities also managed to arrest Diego, his brother, who had a missing residence card and it was later discovered that he allegedly has links with the bloodthirsty Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua, whose members would already be expanding into several areas of the United States.
Marjorie Taylor Greene asked on February 24 to apply the death penalty to Venezuelan migrant José Ibarra.
In a series of posts on her official social media account, she expressed outrage at the crime, demanded justice for the young victim and held Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas responsible for what she considers a “border invasion” orchestrated by the Joe Biden’s government.
The Republican congresswoman also emphasized that the murder of Laken Riley could have been avoided if the United States border was secure and if there were not a massive influx of foreigners into the country.
He also recalled the approval of the HR 2 law by the House of Representatives, a plan prepared by Republican senators to stop the arrival of migrants.
Keep reading:
• Trump boycotted Biden during his State of the Union address live on social media
• Brother of the Hispanic man who killed a student in Georgia would have ties to the Aragua Train
• Alejandro Mayorkas says DHS did not know about criminal history of Venezuelan migrant accused of murdering college student in Georgia