Representative Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, has called on President Joe Biden to mention Laken Riley in his State of the Union address.
Riley, a 22-year-old student at the Augusta University College of Nursing, was found dead late last month near the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens. Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Athens resident, was later arrested and charged in connection with her death. Authorities said Ibarra had entered the country illegally in 2022, and they described his alleged crime as an "isolated incident" and a "crime of opportunity, [with] no motive."
Because of Ibarra's immigration status, Riley's death has become a rallying point for Republicans in their calls for stricter border policies. GOP lawmakers have long highlighted the crimes committed by undocumented immigrants as cause for such policies, though research has shown that native citizens and legal immigrants commit a range of felonies at greater rates than illegal immigrants.
Republicans have focused on Biden not publicly addressing Riley's death. In a letter to the White House on Monday, Banks, who has represented Indiana's 3rd District since 2017 and is running for U.S. Senate, called on Biden to talk about her in his State of the Union address on Thursday night.
"Your failure to publicly acknowledge this tragedy is unacceptable," Banks wrote. "You have a great opportunity to respect the wishes of Laken Riley's mother by breaking your silence and saying her name at the upcoming State of the Union address on Thursday, March 7, 2024."
Elsewhere in the letter, Banks called on Biden to reinstitute "Trump-era immigration policies" that he claimed deterred migrant crossings, despite a surge near the end of Donald Trump's presidency, according to Customs and Border Patrol data.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Monday afternoon for comment. Any responses received will be added to this story in an update.
Biden and other Democrats recently called out Republicans angry over the situation at the border for their refusal to support a recent bipartisan Senate bill that would have introduced the most significant border policy reforms in a decade.
While Republicans opposed to the bill claimed that they did so because of its contents, many have claimed that the reason is so Trump, the leading candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, could continue to campaign on border issues through November.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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