Joe Biden's Silence on Laken Riley Killing Sparks Fury

Joe Biden's apparent silence on the alleged murder of a Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley, has drawn fresh criticism on social media.

The president has already been attacked by Republicans over undocumented immigration following the death, after Jose Antonio Ibarra, who originates from Venezuela and is not a United States citizen, was charged.

Georgia Representative Mike Collins said that "the blood of Laken Riley is on the hands of Joe Biden [and Homeland Security Secretary] Alejandro Mayorkas."

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment on Monday.

The Biden administration has called on Congress to pass a bipartisan border deal that would reform America's immigration processes, with the president describing the current system as "broken" on Sunday.

Riley, 22, was discovered on Thursday in a wooded area in Athens, near the University of Georgia campus. The following evening, police announced that Ibarra, 26, had been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another in connection with Riley's.

Ibarra's wife told the New York Post on Saturday that the couple had crossed the southern border into the U.S. in September and lived for a time in New York City before they split and Ibarra moved to Georgia.

The same day, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp wrote to Biden, criticizing his handling of the border in light of the death. He described Riley's death as a "devastating tragedy" and said that "federal action to secure the border is the only way to wholistically address this ongoing crisis and ensure Laken Riley's horrible fate is not replicated."

"27 posts from Biden about George Floyd. 0 posts from Biden about Laken Riley," MAGA account End Wokeness, which has millions of followers, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. "Did her life matter, Joe Biden?"

"Say Her Name. Laken Riley. Joe Biden has not issued a single tweet about her death," Oli London, a social media personality, said.

Breaking911, which describes itself as an "alternative news source," wrote on Sunday: "It's been four days since 22-year-old Laken Riley was found bludgeoned to death by a Venezuelan man who illegally crossed the border in 2022. Sill [sic] no word from the White House or Pres. Biden."

Texas Representative Chip Roy said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's decision not to comment on Ibarra's legal status was "pathetic and infuriating."

While Republicans have issued renewed criticism of the Biden administration for its immigration record, Democrats have attempted to shift the blame to GOP members of Congress for failing to support a $118 billion package that would have provided for a tougher and more streamlined asylum system, as well as more border patrol agents.

On Sunday, Biden wrote on X that the deal "is the strongest our country has ever seen." He also said that "our laws and our resources haven't kept up with our immigration system. It's broken, and our politics has failed to fix it.

"To my Republican friends on the hill: Doing nothing is not an option. Compromise is part of the process," he added.

The White House told Newsweek earlier in the week that the president was weighing using powers under the pre-existing Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows him to suspend immigration for anyone determined to be "detrimental to the interests of the United States."