President Joe Biden received rare praise from some MAGA Republicans over his use of the word "illegal" while speaking about immigration during his State of the Union address Thursday night.
During his speech, Biden acknowledged the death of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant last month. Her death has drawn increased scrutiny to Biden's handling of immigration as Republicans blame him for not doing more to curb illegal immigration to the United States.
His remark about Riley's death, however, sparked some pushback from progressive Democrats.
"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.
Some Democrats said that Biden should not have used the term "illegal," as advocates argue that language dehumanizes migrants. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said that Biden "should have said undocumented, but that's not a big thing" during an interview on CNN.
Texas Representative Joaquin Castro wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter, "The rhetoric President Biden used tonight was dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere."
"Disappointed that @POTUS would use such dehumanizing right wing rhetoric to speak about immigrants tonight. No human being is illegal," wrote Illinois Representative Delia Ramirez.
Biden was asked by a reporter on Friday if he regrets using the word "illegal" when discussing immigrants.
"Well, I probably. I don't re—Technically he is not supposed to be here," Biden said.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
As Biden faced backlash from progressives over his rhetoric, MAGA Republicans ripped Democrats for their critiques.
Conservatives have been sharply critical of Biden's border policy, blaming him for a rise in migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. However, experts note that external economic and political factors also play a role in migration patterns. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, there were more than 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021.
"They are melting down because I forced Biden to go off script and he finally told the truth and admitted Laken Riley was murdered by an ILLEGAL!!! Yes that's right Joe. ILLEGAL ALIEN!!!!" wrote Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Biden's remarks were in response to Greene heckling Biden to acknowledge Riley's death. Prior to the speech, Greene, wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, confronted him about Riley, handing him a button in her honor.
Representative Andrew Clyde, also a Georgia Republican, posted, "The Left isn't outraged that Laken Riley was murdered by an illegal alien. They're outraged that Joe Biden called her murderer 'illegal.' Let that sink in."
"Democrats are far more angry at Joe Biden for saying the word 'illegal' than for screwing up Laken Riley's name. Which tells you what you need to know about their priorities," wrote conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.
Update 3/8/24, 3:18 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
