Trump Campaigns with Laken Riley’s Parents, Biden Says ‘I Shouldn’t Have’ Called Murder Suspect ‘Illegal’

Former President Donald Trump is using his 2024 presidential bid to bring awareness to the plight of Angel Families, like the parents of Laken Riley, who was murdered allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden says “I shouldn’t have” called the murder suspect “illegal.”

Over the weekend, Trump held a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, where Angel Parents John Phillips, her stepfather, and Allyson Phillips attended and met with the president.

“Sixteen days ago, Laken went out for a morning jog,” Trump told the crowd:

She was in great shape. She wanted to keep herself that way. And she never came back, never came back. They knew something was wrong. An illegal alien criminal who Joe Biden intentionally released into our country has been [charged with murder], and … he’s released tens of thousand of people like this. Tens of thousands. Because you know, they come from jails, and they come from mental institutions. He released them into our country. [Emphasis added]

“Biden has implemented a formal policy that illegal aliens who intrude into the United States are granted immunity from deportation,” Trump said in Rome. “Thus, when this monster showed up at our border he was set free immediately under the program that crooked Joe created.”

Under pressure to acknowledge Riley’s murder, Biden mispronounced her name at his State of the Union (SOTU) address — calling her “Lincoln” Riley. Biden also called her accused murderer “an illegal” during the speech, while downplaying the murder.

“But how many of thousands of people are being killed by legals?” Biden said.

Then, in an interview over the weekend with MSNBC, Biden suggested he regretted using the term “illegal” to describe Ibarra, but did not mention his mispronouncing of Riley’s name.

“I shouldn’t have used ‘illegal.’ It’s ‘undocumented,'” Biden said. “… I’m not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing. We have to control the border and more orderly flow, but I don’t share his [Trump’s] view at all.”

On Feb. 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, 26-year-old illegal alien Jose Antonio Ibarra from Venezuela was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murdering Riley. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, Ibarra arrived at the United States-Mexico border in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, and was quickly 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.

Then, 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.