Atlanta

Immigration expected to be hot topic of State of the Union in shadow of Laken Riley killing

By Karyn Greer
By Karyn Greer

WASHINGTON — Immigration reform is expected to be a hot topic as President Joe Biden gives his State of the Union address Thursday night.

Channel 2 Action News was the only Georgia TV station invited to speak to top Biden administration officials about his plans for the country.

Channel 2′s Karyn Greer spoke with Republicans and Democrats about what they hope to hear from the president during the speech in what is expected to be a pivotal moment for his reelection campaign.

It’s a chance for him to sell voters on his accomplishments and prove he is up for 4 more years.

Georgia republicans Greer spoke with said they hope the president talks about Laken Riley’s killing, the nursing student killed on the UGA campus, and passing immigration reform.

“American citizens are being victimized by criminal, illegal aliens in, Laken Riley’s murder, highlighted that in a huge way. I mean, I live in Athens. That’s my community. So we’re hurting from that,” Rep. Andrew Clyde said.

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“Our hearts go out to them,” press secretary Karine John-Pierre said about the Riley family. “This is why we need to get that bipartisan proposal done. This is why Republicans need to stand up in Congress for the right thing. Like these extreme Republicans need to not get in the way of doing what American people want us to be doing and not let the politics of Donald Trump get in the way.”

The State of the Union also falls on the 60th anniversary of what’s known as Bloody Sunday, which is when 600 people were attacked on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965 as they tried to register to vote.

Later that year, the Voting Rights Act passed, a landmark federal achievement of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement

“I’d expected the president will be talking about the significance of this day,” Rep. Hank Johnson told Greer. “And how voting rights was under attack then. And I expect him to talk about the need to pass voting rights legislation today, to protect that precious right to vote.”

Biden has announced they he will be traveling to Atlanta this weekend to help promote the things he will be talking about during his speech.

Former President Donald Trump will also be traveling to Georgia on Saturday to hold a campaign rally in Rome.

RELATED NEWS:

Laken Riley Act, which would give ICE more tools, passes House ‘overwhelmingly’ in bipartisan vote An immigration enforcement bill sponsored by Georgia Rep. Mike Collins reportedly passed the U.S. House of Representatives with “overwhelming” bipartisan suppor

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