On Sunday, former President Bill Clinton blamed the tragic death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley on the immigration policies overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris. Clinton, who was supposed to be campaigning in support of Harris, instead made remarks that many saw as placing direct responsibility for the murder on her administration.
Clinton referenced Riley’s case, stating, “You had a case in Georgia not very long ago, didn’t you? They [Trump] made an ad about a young woman who’d been killed by an immigrant. Yeah, well, if they’d all been properly vetted, that probably wouldn’t have happened.”
Riley, a 22-year-old student at Augusta University, was murdered while jogging near the University of Georgia in Athens on February 22. The suspect, 26-year-old Venezuelan national José Antonio Ibarra, had entered the U.S. illegally and is now facing charges, including felony murder and aggravated assault with intent to rape.
The killing brought the national immigration debate to the forefront, especially after it was revealed that Ibarra had been caught crossing the U.S. border but was later released into the country. Clinton’s off-script comments have left many questioning the unity within the Democratic Party just weeks before the crucial November election.
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Clinton criticized former President Donald Trump for derailing a bipartisan border security measure earlier this year. However, Trump’s team redirected the critique towards Biden and Harris’ border management, spotlighting that the individual accused of murder under Riley’s case entered the U.S. in 2022, well before the mentioned legislation was proposed.
The trial of Ibarra is set to begin on November 18, and Riley’s case continues to ignite debate over immigration policy. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed the “Laken Riley Act,” aimed at mandating federal detention for migrants who commit burglary or theft. On Monday, the Trump War Room account shared a video of Clinton’s comments on X.
