OPINION:
The killing of Laken Riley cast a national spotlight on the danger of lax immigration policy. The University of Georgia nursing student was jogging in a park last month when Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela, allegedly beat her to death.
In last week’s State of the Union address, President Biden yielded to pressure from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, and acknowledged the tragic incident, except that he called the slain woman “Lincoln” instead of her actual name, Laken.
Adding insult to injury, the president later offered an apology — not to the Riley family, but to Mr. Ibarra. “I shouldn’t have used ‘illegal,’” Mr. Biden told MSNBC. “It’s ’undocumented.’” He then added, “I’m not going to treat any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country.”
According to investigators, Mr. Ibarra took advantage of Mr. Biden’s lax policies to cross the border illegally in 2022. He was one of millions who have recited the insincere words “I’m afraid of being returned to my home country” to be released under the Biden administration’s easygoing asylum policy. Far from building the country, however, Mr. Ibarra and his brother Diego have been tearing it down.
Diego Ibarra’s rap sheet became public after police picked him up charges of possessing a fake green card, which he flashed during the homicide investigation. In September, Diego had been arrested on suspicion of driving while high on methamphetamine and marijuana with an open container of alcohol at 80 mph in a 40 mph zone — without a driver’s license. He never bothered showing up for court.
Prosecutors say Diego and Jose were later nabbed while on a family shoplifting spree at Walmart. Twice. Diego is covered in tattoos common to members of the violent Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua, and Diego frequently posted photos of himself on social media wielding pistols, possession of which would be a felony.
This is who shows up when anyone can saunter into the country without even a cursory vetting. House Democrats in vulnerable districts are already scared the public is starting to recognize the peril: 37 Democrats crossed party lines Thursday to help pass the Laken Riley Act, which forces the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegals accused of committing “any burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting offense.”
It’s odd that it’s even up for discussion that noncitizens who break our laws shouldn’t be allowed to remain, much less roam free. Of course, none of this would have happened if the border itself were secure.
Senate Democrats, on the other hand, revealed their cynical motivation in leaving America’s border wide open. Sen. Bill Hagerty, Tennessee Republican, forced a vote Friday on an amendment that would have blocked the counting of illegal immigrants on the census. Every Democrat voted no.
That means all those who entered the country illegally will continue to count when it comes to handing out congressional districts and electoral votes. With somewhere around 10 million trespassers, that’s a lot of added political muscle.
How many more must die because Democrats seek to enhance their political power?
Please read our comment policy before commenting.