Amna Nawaz:
On social media, former President Trump said – quote – “Biden’s border invasion is destroying our country and killing our citizens.”
And he reiterated his campaign promise to – quote – “seal the border and deport illegal criminals.” The White House has offered condolences to Riley's family but has not directly responded to the Republicans' allegations, all while both Biden and Trump are planning competing border visits in Texas for Thursday of this week.
And to provide a little context to these questions around immigration and crime, I have Charis Kubrin with me now. She is a professor of criminology, law and society at the University of California, Irvine and co-author of the book Immigration and Crime: Taking Stock.
Professor, let's start with the obvious. Our thoughts, of course, are with Laken Riley's family and her friends who senselessly lost the life of a young woman. Authorities also announced today that her death was the result of blunt force trauma. And the man charged here, as we know, is an undocumented immigrant. Those are all facts.
What do you think about the larger discussion currently taking place on these facts?
Charis Kubrin, University of California, Irvine: When I heard about this tragic event, my heart immediately broke. That was, of course, my first reaction.
But secondly, I hope that this terrible event is not exploited for political purposes. And that is exactly what seems to be happening. We are seeing a tragic event become the trigger for a really restrictive policy towards immigrants.
