Biden’s Use Of ‘Illegal’ To Describe Migrants Raises Red Flags For Democrats

President Joe Biden, briefly responding from the podium to jeering from Republicans during his State of the Union speech called a migrant “an illegal,” prompting criticism from his party’s progressive wing.

“No human being is illegal,” said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) in a social media post soon afterwards.

In the section of his speech Thursday dealing with immigration policy and the recent failure of a bipartisan bill aiming to secure the border, Biden’s criticism of Republicans for killing the bill drew sharp jeers and boos from the GOP side of the chamber.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) shouted, “It’s about Laken Riley!” loudly enough to be heard throughout the chamber — including, apparently, from the podium.

Riley was a Georgia college student found dead near the University of Georgia campus in late February. A Venezuelan migrant who had previously been picked up and released by authorities has been charged with murder in connection with her death, which has become a cause célèbre for Republican immigration hawks.

“Lincoln Riley,” Biden said, deviating from his prepared remarks and mispronouncing the dead woman’s name. “An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right.”

“But how many thousands of people, being killed by illegals?” Biden went on, before saying the dynamic of the border needed to be changed and that his heart went out to her parents.

The tone change was abrupt, and Biden’s use of “illegal” to describe migrants who cross borders without formal permission grated on some Democrats. While Democrats and progressives often use “undocumented” to describe such migrants, Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, often use “illegal” instead.

Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.)