Former President Bill Clinton said in a speech Monday that the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley would not have occurred if the suspected killer, an undocumented immigrant, had been properly tested.
While campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris in the Peach State, Clinton accused her rival, former President Donald Trump, of blocking negotiations on a bipartisan border compromise in Congress because she wanted to make it a campaign issue. .
He appeared to suggest that Riley's death could have been avoided if Congress had passed a compromise bill, even though the murder suspect was already under scrutiny.
“She's the only candidate who actually supports legislation that would limit immigration to a certain level in a given year, and then give people a decent place to live and not separate people from their children.” . And we did a thorough vetting before people came on board. Now Trump has repealed the bill,” Clinton said.
Georgia Republican Party Chairman shares Trump's two-pronged campaign strategy to win back the Peach State
Border issues featured prominently in former President Bill Clinton's speech in Columbus, Georgia, on Monday. (Getty Images)
“There was a case in Georgia a while ago, where they put out an ad about a young woman who was killed by an immigrant. Yeah, well, if everyone had been properly tested, maybe the case would have been solved. 'Sho' has never happened. ”
“And America doesn't have enough babies to sustain its population, so we need vetted immigrants to do the work. No problem,” he added.
Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has previously acknowledged publicly that people it encounters attempting to cross the border illegally are screened and screened.
The murder suspect was encountered by CBP after entering the El Paso neighborhood on September 8, 2022, and was “released on parole for further processing,” Fox News Digital previously reported.
A bipartisan border deal also finally failed earlier this year, years after the Venezuelan national suspected of Riley's murder was still under the Biden administration's watch.
During her second campaign stop in Georgia on Monday, Clinton praised the current administration's handling of the border and illegal immigration.
“For the past three years, the Biden-Harris administration has been doing increasingly tough things to control the border, and illegal border crossings have declined every year for three years. Our friends on the other side don't want to talk about it.” ” said Mr. Clinton.
Trump vs Harris Round 2? Voters in key GA counties reveal whether they want a second debate
Clinton on outreach tour to rural America for Harris Waltz campaign (White House)
It is notable that the former president's speech focused primarily on the border in Georgia, a state that President Biden won by less than 1% in 2020.
The issue of illegal border crossings has become a political lightning rod this election cycle. Democrats, who are in close races not only for the presidency but also for Congress and local positions, are pushing for increased border security as Americans across the country see regional infrastructure strained by the influx of people seeking refuge in the United States. It emphasizes support for strengthening the
But Republicans have long criticized Democrats' handling of border security, citing the record number of border crossings since Biden took office. They continued to insist that Harris lived up to her unofficial title of “border czar” during the campaign.
Despite several high-profile use cases in the media, Clinton accused Republicans of giving the title to Harris, which she dismissed as inaccurate.
“They want to attack Kamala Harris and blame her for everything they managed to prevent from happening. As they claim she is the 'border czar,' That's none of her business,” Clinton said.
“Her job is to go to other countries that send us a lot of people to try to capture them, and then register them for legal proceedings while they're still in the country so they don't get trafficked illegally. Please turn yourself in.'' Our borders have to be raided on either side, and that puts people at risk of entering here without proper testing. That's what she tried to do. ”
Georgia Democratic Party Chair Reveals Message to Undecided Republican Voters as Harris Works to Build Broad Support Base
Clinton also accused former President Trump of not actually wanting to fix the border.
He also sought to derail a bipartisan border compromise that former President Trump had failed in the Senate and that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) deemed “dead on arrival” in the House. I accused him of being there.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“He said, 'Oh my God, you can't fix borders. What are you going to do with TV ads? Who are you going to demonize every day? I'm not going to use politics to solve problems. I'm not going to participate in politics. I'm in politics to stir up trouble and criticize other people's actions.
FOX News Digital has asked the Trump campaign for a response.
The former president is campaigning in rural America in preparation for Harris' 2024 bid.
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital's Election Hub..
