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New Poll Shows How Hispanic Voters Feel About Biden Describing Laken Riley's Alleged Killer as 'Illegal’

Madeline Leesman
Madeline Leesman  |  March 28, 2024 4:00 PM

In President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this month, he described Laken Riley’s alleged murderer, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, as an “illegal immigrant.” 

Shortly after, Democrats like California Rep. Nancy Pelosi came out against Biden using the term “illegal.” 

“He should have said ‘undocumented,’” Pelosi said. 

To recap, on Feb. 22, Riley left her home to go for a jog at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens. She never returned home. After she was reported missing, her body was discovered by UGA police. Her death was caused by blunt force trauma, the Athens-Clarke County Coroner said. 

Shortly after, Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, was arrested in connection with Laken Riley’s murder. He is in the United States illegally, which Townhall covered.

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According to a new poll from Harvard-Harris and shared with National Review, almost three-quarters of Hispanic poll respondents, 74 percent, said that Biden using the term “illegal” in his address to describe Riley’s killer was appropriate. Twenty-six percent said Biden’s use of the term “illegal” was inappropriate.

In a separate question, respondents were asked if it is appropriate or inappropriate to refer to those who enter the states unlawfully as “illegal immigrants.” In the results, 63 percent of Hispanics said that this is “appropriate,” while 37 percent said that it is “not appropriate.”

This month, Laken Riley’s father, Jason Riley, said in an interview that his daughter’s accused killer “might not have been here” if the southern border had been secured.

"We have no idea if that would have changed anything, but he’s here illegally," Jason Riley said. "That he might not have been here had we had secure borders."