The White House addressed for the first time publicly on Wednesday the alleged kidnapping and murder of a University of Georgia nursing student by an illegal immigrant.
Republicans have pointed to the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley as evidence of President Joe Biden‘s flawed approach to the southern border and immigration reform. The man accused of murdering Riley, Jose Antonio Ibarra, is a Venezuelan national believed to have been released into the country by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2022 after entering the country illegally.
“I do want to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Laken Hope Riley,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during Wednesday’s press briefing. “Given this is an active case, I’m going to be really careful about speaking to that case. More specifically, we’d have to refer anything specific to that case to law enforcement and, obviously, ICE.”
Jean-Pierre added that she “can’t even imagine what the family is going through” in the wake of the “heartbreaking” murder but could not say if Biden has, or plans to, speak to her family in the future.
“I just don’t have anything to read out to you,” she concluded. “I just don’t have anything for you.”
The White House first responded to Riley’s murder in a statement shared with multiple outlets on Monday, saying that “people should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty.”
Athens, Georgia, where UGA is located, is a sanctuary city, prompting Republicans to protest Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz’s policies.
A number of Republican lawmakers are also pressuring Biden to release information on Ibarra.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday that sets a deadline of March 12 to hand over information regarding Ibarra’s release.
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You can watch Wednesday’s press briefing in full below.
