The grieving mother of the murdered 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley blasted President Joe Biden for fumbling her daughter's name during the State of the Union speech, calling him "pathetic" for his slip. Allyson Phillips responded to a Facebook comment on Friday to slam Biden for even bringing her murdered daughter into his political speech.
"Biden does not even KNOW my child's name – it [sic] pathetic!" Phillips wrote on Friday in response to a Facebook comment celebrating the passage of the Laken Riley Act, stating. "If you are going to say her name (even when forced to do so) at least say the right name!" Phillips said slamming Biden.
Furious at Biden's Slip
The mourning mother also wrote "Amen!" beneath a comment that referred to Biden as "a disgrace of a president." The 81-year-old faced criticism for referring to Riley, who was reportedly murdered by an illegal immigrant, as "Lincoln" during his address.
Riley was found dead on the University of Georgia campus on February 22, having left her home for a run. She suffered blunt force trauma to the head, allegedly inflicted by illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, in what investigators described as a "crime of opportunity."
The president named Riley during the State of the Union address when prompted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.), who shouted, "Say her name!" from the audience.
"I know how to say her name," Biden fired back at Greene.
"Lincoln — Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal," he continued, while holding a button given to him earlier by Greene with Riley's name written on it.
"But how many of thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents I say my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself, I understand," Biden continued.
The suspect arrested for Riley's killing, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, is a migrant from Venezuela. Despite both being associated with the deadly Tren de Aragua gang, Ibarra and his older brother, Diego, were free in the Athens, Ga., area.
A third brother, Argeinis Ibarra, 24, was reportedly arrested in the college town the day after Riley was murdered, as per FOX5 Atlanta.
Politicizing Riley's Name
During a visit to the southern border last week, Trump said that he had spoken with the grieving parents shortly after charges were filed against Ibarra. He described them as "incredible people" who are "devastated beyond belief."
"(Riley) she was beautiful, just so beautiful in so many ways. And brutally assaulted, horrifically beaten, kidnapped and savagely murdered," he said.
Biden also called on Republicans to support a bipartisan immigration bill that was rejected in February, saying that it would "save lives and bring order to the border."
Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee had earlier trashed the measure, saying: "I can't support a bill that doesn't secure the border, provides taxpayer funded lawyers to illegal immigrants and gives billions to radical open borders groups. I'm a no."
The plan was also rejected for proposing to grant the authority to shut down the border only when migrant crossings exceeded a 5,000-per-day average over a one-week period—a threshold deemed excessively high by border experts.
The president was not technically accurate in labeling Ibarra as an "illegal," as the suspect had been granted parole, allowing him to be in the country—a policy championed and applied by Biden's own administration to over a million migrants.
Despite expressing intentions in 2023 to toughen the criteria for entry into the country, the Biden administration has faced ongoing criticism, particularly from politicians like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, for not enforcing existing immigration rules.
Critics point out how the administration has allowed millions of people into the U.S. through parole programs, mobile apps, and those arriving at the border.
In the 2023 financial year, there were 2.4 million encounters at the southern border, the highest on record, and new records for migrant arrivals continue to be broken, with 249,785 arrests on the Mexican border in December, according to CBP statistics.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has himself acknowledged the overwhelming influx of migrants, admitting "it certainly is a crisis" at a press event in February but attempting to shift blame to Congress.
Riley's family is aware of the border crisis and its impact. In addition to her written comments, Phillips "loved" a post that described Riley's death as "avoidable" but said that "the current open borders are making it possible for the flow of criminals to come into our country."
