White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced criticism for her response to the murder of University of Georgia student Laken Riley by an illegal alien.
Jean-Pierre implied Republicans were to blame and shifted focus to immigration policies.
“So, first of all, I want to offer our condolences to the family of Laken,” Jean-Pierre said.
The suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, faces multiple charges and had a criminal record.
Republicans criticized Biden’s border policies, blaming them for Riley’s death.
“This is a horrific, horrific loss for any family. And obviously, if whoever is found guilty, we need to make sure that that happens. And obviously, we don’t want to see anything happen like that again,” Jean-Pierre said.
“But here’s the thing. We have done the work to make sure we’re dealing with a broken immigration system. The Republicans have gotten in the way, they have gotten in the way,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy referenced the murder in a call to reject funding for the Department of Homeland Security due to border security concerns.
“And we’re going to be passing a continuing resolution that continues to fund a DHS that refuses to secure the border. These Americans are dead. These Americans are dead because illegal immigrants, illegal aliens, were released into the United States by this administration,” Roy said.
“Laken Riley, one week ago today, was alive and well and now she’s gone. Because somebody from Venezuela was released on mass parole in El Paso, went into the United States, went to New York, was released after assaulting somebody, moved to Athens, Georgia, and killed this young woman,” he said.
“Because of the policies of the radical progressive Democrats that my colleagues on this side of the aisle want to campaign against but refuse to use the power of the purse to stop.”
