Democrats are expressing anger over President Joe Biden’s use of the term “illegal” to describe Laken Riley’s suspected murderer, a Venezuelan immigrant living in the U.S. illegally.
During his State of the Union address, Biden referred to Riley as “Lincoln Riley,” the head football coach at the University of Southern California, before correcting himself and acknowledging her as “an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.”
This use of the term “illegal” has sparked criticism from Democrats, who argue that it is dehumanizing and reminiscent of language used by former President Donald Trump. Rep. Chuy García expressed disappointment, stating, “As a proud immigrant, I’m extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal.'”
Rep. Ilhan Omar stated, “Let me be clear: No human being is illegal.” Rep. Joaquin Castro complained that Biden’s rhetoric was similar to Trump’s, which he believes puts a target on the backs of Latinos.
However, some have pointed out that “illegal” is the adjective most frequently used in U.S. law to describe immigrants who are living in the country without legal authorization.
Charles Cooke, an immigrant and senior editor at National Review, defended the use of the term, stating, “There’s nothing wrong with using ‘illegal’ to describe those who moved here in violation of our law — as distinct from those who did not.”
Critics of the term argue that it is dehumanizing and prefer terms like “undocumented.” However, others argue that changing the language does not change the underlying legal status of these individuals.
They suggest that if Democrats are truly concerned about the term “illegal,” they should work to change the existing statutory descriptions of illegal immigrants through legislative action.