SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Politically charged debate over the death of a Georgia student made its way onto the stage of the U.S. Capitol this week. Laken Riley was killed last month, allegedly by a man who entered the U.S. illegally. In the middle of President Biden's State of the Union address, Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene shouted out from her seat and challenged the president to mention the student by name. WABE's Sam Gringlas in Atlanta explains what it's all about.
SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE: As President Biden made his way into the House chamber, Greene handed him a white button - on it the name Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student killed on the University of Georgia campus last month. Later, Greene interrupted Biden's speech as he chastised presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for encouraging lawmakers to block an immigration bill.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: It's not about him. It's not about me. I'd be a winner - not really.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: What about Laken Riley?
BIDEN: I...
TAYLOR GREENE: Laken Riley.
(JEERING)
GRINGLAS: What about Laken Riley? - Greene said. Say her name. Biden held up the white pin Greene had given him.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BIDEN: Lincoln Riley (ph), an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. But how many of the thousands of people are being killed by illegals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand.
GRINGLAS: Republicans slammed Biden for appearing to mispronounce Riley's name. Democrats criticized his use of illegal as a noun, calling the rhetoric dehumanizing. But people in Georgia had already been debating for weeks how to respond to Riley's death. Here's Republican Governor Brian Kemp last month.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BRIAN KEMP: All of Georgia and the entire country have been rocked by this inexcusable and avoidable murder. Laken's death is a direct result of failed policies on the federal level and an unwillingness by this White House to secure the southern border.
GRINGLAS: Biden has recently been calling on lawmakers to strengthen border security and hire more Border Patrol agents and immigration judges, but a sweeping bipartisan proposal fell apart last month. Trump has been ratcheting up his rhetoric about immigration ahead of the election. Today, he's holding a campaign rally in Greene's deeply conservative district in north Georgia. Democrats like state Representative Pedro Marin are warning against exploiting Laken Riley's death.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PEDRO MARIN: It is easy and tempting during an election cycle to target minorities and immigrants in order to score political points.
GRINGLAS: Research shows that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than others. Meanwhile, Republican state lawmakers in Georgia are now pushing several bills that would force local governments to cooperate more fully with federal immigration authorities.
For NPR News, I'm Sam Gringlas in Atlanta. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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