CNN Opinion Columnist Doesn't Want Laken Riley's Murder Exploited for Xenophobia and Hate

Wow, the media has all sorts of hot takes on the murder of nursing student Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. I did a post yesterday about how NBC News reported the "Republicans pounce" angle, saying they were using the tragedy to push for "hard-line immigration policies." If you mean not letting criminals into the country, I'm all for hard-line immigration policy.

As we reported earlier, Kelly Girtz, the mayor of Athens, Georgia, gave a press conference on the murder, but he seemed to put more of the blame on Donald Trump than on Athens resident Jose Antonio Ibarra. The mayor wanted to make clear that there was no correlation between illegal immigration and crime.

Kelly Girtz (D), the Mayor of Athens, Georgia, where Laken Riley was m*rdered by an illegal says illegal immigration and crime aren’t connected. He then blames Trump for being mean to illegals. pic.twitter.com/HyANM5PAgY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 28, 2024

Someone managed to pull up a video of Girtz proudly declaring Athens a sanctuary city.

Today the Mayor of Athens, Georgia, where Laken Riley was murdered by an illegal, tried to claim that his town is not a sanctuary city.

Here is Mayor Kelly Girtz in 2019 FORMALLY DECLARING that Athens is a sanctuary city. I cut out the Spanish translating. pic.twitter.com/WJKaGQE2rh
— MAZE (@mazemoore) February 28, 2024

Girtz was apparently much more concerned with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis — he pulled out the bullhorn for that one.

Athens mayor Kelly Girtz (D) earlier today dismissed the fact that a man in the country illegally m*rdered Laken Riley.

There were no indignant speeches, no bullhorns, no outrage.

It won’t surprise you to learn that Girtz reacted very differently to the death of George Floyd. pic.twitter.com/Nsbq79V0Tr
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) February 28, 2024

But I mentioned hot takes above, and CNN opinion columnist Raul A. Reyes had quite a piece published on CNN today — he's afraid that those conservatives will take out their "white rural rage" on illegal immigrants. As we reported earlier, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has already done its piece on the feared backlash against the illegal Venezuelan community in Athens.

The suspect in her killing is an undocumented migrant from Venezuela, which has resulted in a renewed firestorm over illegal immigration. Congressional Republican lawmakers have called for an immigration crackdown, and former President Donald Trump has denounced the suspect as a “monster.”
…
Riley’s suspected killer, José Antonio Ibarra, is so far, just that – a suspect. While he faces felony murder, false imprisonment and other charges, he is still entitled to the presumption of innocence. This is the cornerstone of our criminal justice system. Under our Constitution, Ibarra is entitled to due process as well, like any other person on US soil.
…
Early reporting on Ibarra has found that he was arrested in 2022 after entering the US illegally and then released. He was later arrested by New York City police and charged “with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation,” according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and again released. But these facts, along with the circumstances of Riley’s killing, do not mean that Ibarra should become the poster boy for undocumented migrants.

Like white supremacy, "xenophobia" has lost any meaning it once had.

"A Pew Research survey this month found that, despite evidence to the contrary, 57% of Americans believe that large numbers of people seeking to enter the country leads to more crime," Reyes says. Crossing into the United States illegally is already a crime from the jump. And as they say, they're not sending their best. How many "asylum seekers" are awaiting trial in their home countries and decided to come here?

All of you people are simply evil. There is no other way to explain it.
— Mostly Peaceful Black Swan (@BlueCheckLife) February 28, 2024

You are more evil than Riley's murderer because he committed an evil act whereas that is the entirety of your existence.
— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) February 28, 2024

Your opinion sucks.
— 0dinbot (@0dinbot) February 28, 2024

People like you let this happen. Shame on you.
— tom ferry (@AnonToothFairy) February 28, 2024

Only a complete and utter racist would assume people not wanting illegal aliens killing our college students is about their skin tone or country of origin.

It the brutal murdering and crimes.
— Liberal Reject (@LiberalReject) February 28, 2024

8 hours later and not a single like. Extraordinarily sucktastic take.
— Menkui (@Cmplxe) February 28, 2024

Hi Raul, I'd like to know your stance on publishing the names of those killed by gun violence and whether those people are also being "exploited?"
— cactus2jack (@cactus2jack2) February 28, 2024

Stop simping for murderers please.
— Legendy-Six (@legendy_six) February 28, 2024

It’s a fact that if he didn’t come here illegally, #LakenRiley would still be alive today.
Stop running cover for these criminals and telling people not to talk about it.
You are complicit by slapping slanderous labels on Americans for speaking the truth and protecting illegals.
— Mel Thrilling without the H (@MelissaTrilling) February 28, 2024