The White House spokesperson refuted claims on Monday that President Biden had apologized for using the term “illegal” to refer to an undocumented migrant during his State of the Union speech. However, Biden expressed regret over his choice of words.
The man accused of killing university student Laken Riley in Georgia is a migrant from Venezuela who was not authorized to be in the U.S., according to immigration officials. This incident has sparked controversy among conservatives, becoming a highly debated political issue.
White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton emphasized that there was no apology from the president during the conversation. She stated, “I want to be really clear about something. The president absolutely did not apologize. There was no apology anywhere in that conversation. He used a different word.”
Dalton highlights the difference between an apology and the president’s expression of remorse, which followed criticism from Democrats who regarded the term as offensive. A spokesperson for the Biden campaign described the use of the term as a minor error.
Multiple Republicans criticized the president on Sunday for expressing regret, portraying it as an apology and asserting that it demonstrated his weakness on border security policy.
Riley’s death has sparked a heated political debate on border security, with Republicans placing the blame on Biden’s policy. Meanwhile, the White House is urging the GOP to support a bipartisan border security agreement.
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