Rights activists have denounced US President Joe Biden for using the dehumanizing term "an illegal" to describe an undocumented immigrant at his State of the Union speech, claiming that Biden is simply repeating Donald Trump's dehumanizing comments.
Republicans heckled Biden during his speech at the US Capitol on Thursday over the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old who was reportedly killed by an unauthorized immigrant.
For conservatives, Riley's passing has become a rallying cry. Riley was a young, innocent woman who was murdered by an illegal. Yes, that is true, but how many thousands of people are 'legals' killing? "My heart goes out to her parents," stated Biden.
The term "illegal" has long been used to denigrate people who do not have legal status in the US or who cross the border without authorization in quest of asylum. This has been denounced by progressive lawmakers and rights organizations.
Faisal Al-Juburi, chief external relations officer of RAICES, a Texas-based organization that supports and advocates for immigrants, said, "We remind President Biden that no human being is illegal—and dangerous rhetoric inevitably leads to more violence against our community."Democrats who support Biden also took issue with the president's remark.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar stated in a highly shared post on the social networking platform X, "Let me be clear: No human being is illegal."Democratic congressman from Texas, Joaquin Castro, stated that although Biden's speech contained "a lot of good," "his rhetoric about immigrants was incendiary and wrong."
Castro posted on social media, saying, "The rhetoric President Biden used tonight was dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere."
He continued, referring to Trump's Make America Great Again movement, saying that "Democrats shouldn't be taking our cues from MAGA extremism."
During his time in the White House, the former Republican president—who is expected to be the Republican nominee for president in 2024—pursued strong anti-immigration policies, which included limiting the rights of asylum seekers to request refuge in the US.
In addition, Trump keeps up his frequent use of anti-immigrant rhetoric in his bid for the presidency. It is widely anticipated that he will challenge Biden in the general election in November.Before the State of the Union, Trump slammed immigrants and asylum seekers as "illegal alien criminals" in a video that was uploaded on his Truth Social platform. If re-elected, he also pledged to lead "the largest domestic deportation operation in American history."
New records for unauthorized border crossings into the US were set last year. For instance, US Customs and Border Protection recorded 1,475,669 "encounters" with migrants and asylum seekers who arrived irregularly across the southern border with Mexico in the fiscal year 2023. There were 301,983 “encounters” in December alone.
Republicans and some Democrats have criticized President Biden for not taking action to reduce the numbers, which has placed political pressure on the administration to take action. According to observers, Trump and his associates are attempting to turn the circumstance into a Republican Party election issue that will win.
In light of this, Biden has personally urged Congress to approve a budget measure that would strengthen border security and impose additional limitations on asylum requests. Republicans are allegedly postponing the legislation to aid Trump in his reelection campaign, according to Democrats.
Biden stated that the law would give Washington the power to recruit extra border guards and to “temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming” during his State of the Union address on Thursday night.
"It is your duty to the American people to complete this law, my Republican friends. He said, "We must take action. "We either work to mend the border, or we may fight over it. I'll take care of it. Quickly send me the border bill!
Biden "embraced the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country, formally adopting a more radical anti-immigrant position" in his address, according to a statement from Al-Juburi at RAICES, the immigrant rights group in Texas.
"He gave in to the pressures of a political environment that is becoming more antagonistic toward families and individuals who are immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers."
Additionally, Biden "missed an opportunity to distinguish himself" from Trump on immigration, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
Referring to the State of the Union, the organization posted on social media, "Instead, he doubled down on the Senate's failed border bill & parroted dehumanizing Republican rhetoric about immigrants." "We demand that the President perform better."
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