Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, are campaigning in Atlanta on Saturday – their first visit to Georgia since the Republican National Convention.
The visit comes four days after Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said during a rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center that the “path to the White House runs right through this state.”
Since Harris’ entry in the race, the contest in this battleground state has tightened and each candidate is leaning into messages they hope will convince voters of their platforms. Trump has a history of mentioning Laken Riley as a part of his messaging on immigration. Other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, also talk about her regularly.
Who is Laken Riley and what happened?
Laken Hope Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed after going on a run on the University of Georgia’s campus on Feb. 22. She was found in a wooded area near UGA’s intramural fields.
The man charged in her killing, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, is a Venezuela national who was arrested in 2022 after unlawfully entering the United States, federal immigration officials have said.
Charges include malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing Riley’s death. In October 2023, Ibarra and his brother Diego Jose Ibarra were issued citations after being accused of shoplifting in Athens-Clarke County.
During a hearing Friday, the judge said she is looking to start Ibarra’s trial in mid-November – after Election Day.
What did Trump say about Riley and immigration at the Republican National Convention?
Trump addressed more than 2,000 GOP delegates during his nomination speech on the last night of the Republican National Convention on July 19. He called Riley “brilliant” and said he had met with the 22-year-old’s “wonderful family.”
“She was so proud of being first in her class,” the former president said. “(She) was out for a jog on the campus of the University of Georgia when she was assaulted, beaten and horrifically killed.”
“Yet another American life was stolen by a criminal alien set free by this administration,” Trump said in the speech, after referencing several other high-profile homicides in which the victims were allegedly killed by people in the country illegally. Read more about his speech here.
Other instances of Trump talking about Riley:
Riley in politics:
At the State of the Union:
Why does Trump keep bringing her up?
About 13% of voters surveyed in a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll said immigration was the most important issue that would influence their vote in November – behind inflation and cost of living, the economy and jobs, and preserving democracy. For Republicans and conservatives, though, immigration polled even higher.
Trump is the most prominent politician to link immigrants and crime. He launched his presidential bid in 2015 by saying Mexico is “sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
He’s made immigration a signature issue and portrayed the foreign-born as criminals. Yet the weight of evidence shows no support for claims that immigrants are more responsible for crime than native-born Americans.
President Joe Biden tasked Harris early in his administration with addressing the root causes of migration. Border crossings eventually became a major political liability for Biden when they reached historic levels. Since June, when Biden announced significant restrictions on asylum applications at the border, arrests for illegal crossings have fallen.
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