An overwhelming majority of Hispanic Americans say calling the illegal alien accused of murdering 22-year-old Laken Riley an “illegal,” as President Joe Biden initially did, is appropriate, a Harvard/Harris poll finds.
During his State of the Union (SOTU) address this month, Biden was pressured by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to address Laken Riley’s murder. Biden ultimately called the suspect accused of murdering Riley, Jose Antonio Ibarra, “an illegal.”
Afterward, Biden seemingly told MSNBC he regretted using the term “illegal.”
“Undocumented person and I shouldn’t have used ‘illegal,’ I should have — it’s undocumented, Biden said of Ibarra’s immigration status in the U.S. In response to Biden’s comment, the White House said the president “did not apologize” to Ibarra.
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A Harvard/Harris poll released this week, though, shows 74 percent of Hispanic Americans find using the term “illegal” to describe Riley’s accused killer is appropriate.
Just 26 percent of Hispanics said the term “illegal” is inappropriate.
Across racial divides and the political spectrum, Americans are fine with the term “illegal” to describe illegal aliens such as Ibarra. The poll shows 79 percent of Americans deem the term appropriate — including 81 percent of white Americans, 74 percent of black Americans, 80 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of Democrats, and 78 percent of swing voters.
In general, 73 percent of Americans said it is appropriate to use the term “illegal immigrants” when referring to those who are living in the U.S. illegally. This includes a majority of white Americans, Hispanic Americans, black Americans, Republicans, Democrats, and swing voters.
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Also, the poll finds that in the wake of Riley’s murder, Americans say they want to see far stricter immigration controls in place to prevent waves of illegal aliens from arriving in the U.S.
About 7-in-10 Americans, for example, said Riley’s murder shows the U.S. “needs stricter immigration policies” while only 3-in-10 said the issue is being exploited.
Some 72 percent of white Americans, 69 percent of Hispanic Americans, 64 percent of black Americans, 84 percent of GOP voters, 62 percent of Democrats, and 64 percent of swing voters said Riley’s murder confirms the U.S. needs an immigration crackdown.
On February 22, Riley went for a jog around the University of Georgia (UGA) campus in Athens, Georgia. When she did not return for hours, her roommate called the police, who went searching for her.
Later that day, Riley’s body was found bludgeoned in a wooded area.
The following day, Ibarra was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murdering Riley. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, Ibarra arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, and was released into the nation’s interior by Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
More than six months before Riley’s murder, Ibarra was arrested in New York City for allegedly injuring a child and violating motor vehicle rules. The city’s sanctuary policy ensured that Ibarra was released from jail instead of being turned over to ICE agents.
In October 2023, Ibarra was given a citation in Athens for shoplifting but was not turned over to ICE agents. He failed to appear in court for the charges, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.