President Biden expressed regret on Saturday for using the word “illegal” to describe an undocumented immigrant accused of killing a 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia, agreeing with his progressive critics that it was an inappropriate term.
Mr. Biden used the word during an off-script conversation with Republicans during his State of the Union address on Thursday night, and then came under fire from immigration advocates who see the term as dehumanizing. Among those who said he shouldn’t use it were several congressional Democrats.
“I shouldn’t have used ‘illegal.’ is ‘undocumented,'” Mr. Biden said Saturday in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, in which he referred to his disagreements with former President Donald J. Trump.
“And look, when I talked about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about at the border was his, the way he talks about ‘parasites,’ the way he talks about these people who ‘contaminate the blood”. ,” he said, adding, “I talked about what I’m not going to do. What I won’t do. I’m not going to treat anyone, anyone, any of these people with disrespect.”
And he continued: “Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing. We need to control the borders and smoother flow, but I don’t share his view at all.”
Mr Capehart asked if that meant he regretted using the word “illegal”.
“Yes,” Mr. Biden replied.
The president’s response went further than when he was first asked about the issue by reporters on Friday. He didn’t specifically walk back the term at that point, noting that the immigrant accused of killing in Georgia “technically wasn’t supposed to be here.”
The president’s use of the word came Thursday night as he pressed Republican leaders to stop blocking a bipartisan deal to strengthen border security. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who relishes the role of provocateur, called him out on the case of Laken Riley, the college student who was killed last month by what authorities say was a Venezuelan immigrant who had entered the country illegally. The case has become a rallying cry for hardliners who criticize illegal immigration.
“What about Laken Riley? Say her name!” screamed Mrs. Green, who was wearing a Say Her Name T-shirt and was handing out buttons around the room with the same slogan.
Mr. Biden paused his speech to comply, holding up one of the buttons and saying Ms. Riley’s name, though he mispronounced her name.
“Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed,” Mr Biden said.
“From an outlaw!” cried Mrs. Green.
“In illegal, that’s right,” Mr. Biden agreed. “But how many of the thousands of people are killed by the lawmen?” he added in a confusing editorial, noting that crime rates among undocumented immigrants have historically been lower than among others living in the United States.
“To her parents, I say my heart goes out to you,” he continued. “Having lost children myself, I understand.”
He then argued that Republicans could do something about illegal immigration by passing compromise legislation. “Make this bill,” he told them. “We must act now.”
Ms Riley’s mother, Alison Phillips, was not comforted by the president’s words and expressed her outrage that he had mispronounced her daughter’s name.
“Biden doesn’t even know my child’s name,” she wrote on Facebook, adding that it was “miserable.” He continued: “If you’re going to say her name (even if you’re forced to), at least say the right name!”
Mr. Trump met with Ms. Riley’s parents before a campaign rally in Rome, Gengiano, on Saturday, according to a senior campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita. And he seized on Mr Biden’s comments as soon as he took to the stage, where the crowd held signs with Ms Riley’s photo and the words ‘Say her name’.
“I was told before what I’m doing right now that Joe Biden went on TV and apologized for calling Laken’s killer illegal,” Mr. Trump told the crowd, adding that the Georgia immigrant “shouldn’t have been in our country and it would never be under the Trump policy.”
Michael Gold contributed to the report.
