Laken Riley's father Jason says he's 'angry' she is being 'used politically' in immigration debate - but says her suspected killer would not be here 'if we had secure borders'

The father of a 22-year-old nursing student allegedly killed by a migrant this past month has expressed ire over politicians using her death for political purposes.

Jason Riley, the father of 22-year-old Laken Riley, delivered the remarks on the Today show Monday - before declaring that the suspected killer, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, would not have been here in the first place 'if we had secure borders'.

The sitdown comes as the Georgia woman's death during a jog on February 22 continues to dominate headlines after the fact.

Earlier this month, Joe Biden uttered her name - albeit incorrectly - in what appeared to be an impromptu moment during his State of the Union speech. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has met with the girl's mother and stepfather, has and blamed her death on Biden's policies at the border.

As a result, some have accused Republicans of using Riley's death to advance their political agenda - a dynamic Jason Riley, on Monday, criticized.

Making it clear he does support the GOP frontrunner as a candidate, he said he would prefer  politicians like him and Marjorie Taylor Greene would refrain from using his daughter's death as a political tool.

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Jason Riley, the father of the late 22-year-old, made the remarks on the Today show Monday

Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student was killed while out jogging on February 22

Her dad said that the suspected killer, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, would not have been here in the first place 'if we had secure borders'

'I'd rather [my daughter's death] not be such a political, how you say - it started a storm in our country,' Jason said of his daughter's death.

'It's incited a lot of people,' he said, before asserting: 'There's people on both sides that have lashed out at our families.'

He went on to add how he '[wished he] would have been there to protect her' that fateful day in Augusta - during which the Augusta University student embarked on a jog before turning up dead - and that '[he wished] it would have been [him].'

Pivoting to the political claims, he proclaimed:  'I think [her death] is being used politically to get those votes.'

'Laken has been a rallying cry for secure borders and for the illegal immigration policies of this current administration,' the mourning dad continued, before disclaiming: 'but there's many women we don't get to hear about.'

The remarks referred to multiple politicians' use of his daughters names at campaign rallies and speeches in recent weeks, in what's poised to be a hotly contested election year.

On the day of Biden's befuddled State of the Union address, a bill in honor of Laken - eponymously named the Laken Riley Act - was passed the GOP-led House.

If signed, it would require US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take undocumented immigrants into custody for theft-related offenses, after the suspect and his brother were arrested and released months before the murder after being found in possession of stolen merchandise from a local Walmart.

The declaration referred to politicians' use of his daughters names at campaign rallies and speeches - as well as in an eponymous immigration bill - in what's sure to be a hotly contested election year

Donld Trump this month blamed Augusta University's nursing college student's death on Biden's policies at the border

He went on to meet with Jason Reilly's wife and her second husband backstage at the Rome, Georgia rally on March 9, as well as the roommate who reported her missing when she left for a jog last month and never came back

In the days since, 'Say her name' has surfaced as the mostly Republican procession's war cry, with Georgia's most divisive firebrand in Marjorie Taylor Greene quick to take part 

Others in that stable include United States Senator Joni Ernst, who last month produced a poster with Riley and another slain woman's face - the other belonging to 21-year-old Sarah Root, killed by an undocumented migrant during a traffic accident in 2016

At the time, then-president Trump claimed the Nebraska woman was sacrificed 'on the altar of open borders', before using her death to eventually bolster federal immigration laws 

Riley's dad, in turn, proclaimed: 'I think [her death] is being used politically to get those votes'

The suspect has since been arrested and charged with felony murder, false imprisonment, and kidnapping, nearly two years after illegally entering the US from Venezuela, where his brother is said to be a member of the gang Tren de Aragua.

Trump, in turn, told attendees at an event Rome, Georgia, that his successor 'intentionally released' Ibarra into the country with his relatively lax policies at the border, claiming Riley would still be alive if he were president instead. 

In the days since, 'Say her name' has surfaced as the mostly Republican procession's war cry, with Georgia firebrand Taylor Greene quick to take part.

Others in that stable include United States Senator Joni Ernst, who last month produced a poster with Riley and another slain woman's face - the other belonging to 21-year-old Sarah Root, killed by an undocumented migrant during a traffic accident in 2016.

At the time, then-president Trump claimed the Nebraska woman was sacrificed 'on the altar of open borders', before using her death to eventually bolster federal immigration laws.

Resulting laws like Title 42 - implemented during the pandemic - have since been nixed, with Riley's death now reigniting discourse surrounding the subject.

Meanwhile, immigration is poised to be a key issue in the upcoming presidential election, where Georgia will be a swing state massively important to clinching a victory for either candidate. 

In 2016, Trump barely won the southern state with 50.4 percent of the vote, but it flipped blue in 2020 - with Biden beating him by 0.3 percent.

Joe Biden this told told MSNBC he regretted calling Riley's suspected killer an 'illegal' during his State of the Union address, claiming he instead should have used the word 'undocumented'

Trump rally attendees at the Forum River Center in Rome, Georgia on Saturday, March 9, 2024  hold posters with images of Laken Riley, 22. An illegal immigrant was charged with her murder

One of the election fraud lawsuits against Trump was brought in Georgia by liberal Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis - a suit the former president has called a sham and the result of a politically motivated 'witch hunt.'

He, in turn, seized the chance to speak on the issue at his rally in Georgia this past month, where he criticized his competitor for remarks given to MSNBC where he appeared to express regret over categorizing Riley's alleged killer as an 'illegal' as opposed to 'undocumented.

'Joe Biden went on television and apologized for calling Laken’s murderer an illegal,' he told the crowd in Rome. 'Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer.'

He continued: 'Joe Biden has no remorse, he's got no regret, he's got no empathy, no compassion, and worst of all, he has no intention of stopping the deadly invasion that stole precious Laken's beautiful American life.

The White House went on to insist that Biden's remarks did not constitute an apology, claiming their is a difference between that and expressing regret.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile,  was prepared to give Biden a pass on the language when asked about it on CNN not long after, appearing to dismiss the comment after an odd exchange with anchor Dana Bash.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, was prepared to give Biden a pass on the language when asked about it on CNN not long after, appearing to dismiss the comment after an odd exchange with anchor Dana Bash 

'Now he should have said undocumented, but that's not a big thing, ok? What's the big thing,' Pelosi said. 

'We usually say "undocumented". He said "illegal". I don’t think it’s a big deal.'

'I don't think it’s a big deal because I think his focus was on the sympathy for the family. It’s a terrible tragedy.'

Days before, Biden mistakenly called Laken 'Lincoln', weeks after she was found dead from blunt force trauma following a run near her dorm.

'Lincoln, Lincoln Riley,' said Biden while holding up a pin Greene had handed him calling on him to say her name. 'An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. 

'But how many of thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents I say my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself, I understand,' he added. 

That comment drew rebukes from several progressive Democrats who said it was dehumanizing to call a person an 'illegal.' 

In response, Riley on Monday said that while he is perturbed his daughter's death has become so political, he is happy that it has opened up discussions about how  secure the southern border and help women, including those who are victims of human trafficking.

'Laken has been a rallying cry for secure borders and for the illegal immigration policies of this current administration, but there's many women we don't get to hear about,' he said. 

'I understand them wanting to come here for a better life,' he said of migrants, 'but when you have gang members and people who can commit violent crimes, especially against women, I think we can stop some of that.' 

The suspect - who officials confirmed illegeally entered the country via Texas in 2022 - remains booked in Clarke County Jail on charges including malic murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault, as well as felony kidnapping and concealing the death of another

He added of his daughter: 'She was only 22. She had a lot of life left to give to the world,'

'If everybody could live like Laken,' he went on, 'it would make the world a better place.'

The suspect, meanwhile, entered the US illegally in 2022 near El Paso, Texas, immigration officials have confirmed.

He is alleged to have killed Riley during a run near her college's intramural fields the morning she was reported missing, before being found in some nearby woods with visible injuries.

Ibarra was named a suspect the very next day, after investigators analyzed yet to be seen surveillance footage from the college campus.

The Venezuelan citizen remains booked in Clarke County Jail on charges including malic murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault, as well as felony kidnapping and concealing the death of another.