Grand Canyon Times

Catholic Vote President Brian Burch said a new poll showing 56% of Arizona voters blaming President Joe Biden’s border policies for the recent murder of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley is the result of the number of crimes committed by illegal immigrants “continuing to multiply” under his open border policy. 

"The tragedies caused by Biden's open border policy continue to multiply,” Burch told the Grand Canyon Times. “Fortunately, Arizona voters are becoming aware of the increased human trafficking, the increased crime, and the increased expense to taxpayers that has resulted. Biden is at fault--he has the power to close the border today."

A new poll released by the League of American Workers (LAW) shows that 56% of Arizona voters think President Joe Biden’s border policies are to blame for crimes like an illegal alien’s February 22 murder of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. 

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was found murdered on February 22, 2024, after going for a jog at the University of Georgia campus. Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, was charged in her murder. Riley had been killed by blunt force trauma to the head.

Ibarra had previously been arrested by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol on September 8, 2022 for entering the U.S. illegally near El Paso, Texas. He was then released pending adjudication of his claim for “asylum.”

He was then arrested again in August 2023 by the New York Police Department and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child and a motor vehicle license violation.

42% of Arizona voters said Biden policies bear a “great deal”of responsibility for crimes such as Riley’s murder by an illegal alien, while 14% said these policies bear “some” responsibility. 

Among Arizona voters who have heard a great deal about Riley’s murder, 71% say the Biden Administration has a great deal of responsibility for the murder. 

Only 52% of voters, however, have heard about Riley’s murder, with only 22% having heard a great deal about it. 

During his State of the Union address on March 7, Biden referred to Laken Riley as “Lincoln Riley” after U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.) shouted “Say her name!” to the president.

Lincoln Riley is the 40-year-old, male, head football coach of the University of Southern California football team. 

The U.S. House on March 7 passed the “Laken Riley Act” on a vote of 251-170. The bill would require the detention and deportment of illegal aliens charged with theft. 

Every Republican and 37 Democrats supported the measure, while 170 Democrats voted against it. No Arizona members of the U.S. House voted against the act, though Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-9) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7) did not vote.

The bill is now pending in the U.S. Senate.

The survey was conducted among 600 likely Arizona voters on March 14-17, 2024 by North Star Public Opinion Research.

Madison, Wisconsin-based Catholic Vote is an advocacy organization that wants to “inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life,” according to the group’s website. Founded in 2008, its president is Brian Burch.