In an interview on Saturday, President Joe Biden expressed regret for using the term “illegal” to describe Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan man charged in connection with the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, during his State of the Union Address.
Biden clarified that he should have used the term “undocumented” instead. This clarification comes after Biden faced criticism from immigration activists for his use of the term “illegal” in his speech.
During the State of the Union address, Biden mentioned Riley, whom he appeared to mispronounce as “Lincoln Riley,” and described her as an “innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.” He then questioned how many people are being killed by “legals.”
When asked about his use of the term on Friday, Biden initially responded, “Well, I probably — I don’t re — technically not supposed to be here.”
However, he later returned his comments in the MSNBC interview, stating that he did not want to address immigrants like former President Donald Trump does. Biden emphasized that he does not share Trump’s view that immigrants are “polluting the blood” of the country.
Instead, Biden highlighted the contributions of immigrants to the country, stating that they are the reason for the economy’s growth. He also reiterated the need for border control and a more orderly immigration flow.
