(PartiallyPolitics.com) – The White House clarified on Monday that President Biden did not issue an apology for referring to an undocumented migrant as “illegal” during his State of the Union address, despite expressing regret over his choice of words.
The controversy centers around the case of a Venezuelan migrant, implicated in the murder of university student Laken Riley in Georgia, who did not have legal authorization to be in the United States, as per immigration authorities. This case has sparked intense debate, particularly among conservative circles.
White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton emphasized the distinction between issuing an apology and expressing regret. “The president did not apologize. He expressed regret for his choice of words, which is not the same as an apology,” Dalton stated, responding to critiques that emerged after some members of the Democratic party criticized the president’s terminology as pejorative. A representative from Biden’s campaign referred to the incident as a “minor error.”
In reaction to the president’s expression of regret, several Republicans criticized him, interpreting it as a sign of weakness, particularly regarding his stance on border security.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) criticized Biden on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, arguing that the president was pandering to his political base and showing undue sympathy towards the individual accused of murdering Laken Riley, suggesting instead that an apology was owed to Riley’s family for the tragedy.
Amidst this heated debate, Riley’s tragic death has been thrust into the forefront of discussions on border security, with Republicans attributing the incident to failures in Biden’s immigration policies. Meanwhile, the White House is urging Congress to come together to pass a comprehensive bipartisan border security package.
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