The killing of a Georgia nursing student is now at the center of the US immigration debate
The killing of nursing student in Georgia has become an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign
By JEFF AMY, ELLIOT SPAGAT and WILL WEISSERT
Published - Feb 27, 2024, 03:00 PM ET
Last Updated - Feb 27, 2024, 03:00 PM EST
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student out on her morning run at the University of Georgia when authorities say a stranger dragged her into a secluded area and killed her, sending shockwaves through campus as police searched for a suspect.
The arrest of a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case put the tragedy at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Former President Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden and his border policies for the Augusta University student's fatal beating. A conservative news site blasted “open-border elites” for accepting the deaths of women such as Riley as “collateral damage.”
