PHX Reporter

U.S. Congressional candidate Blake Masters (R-AZ-8) said that Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by an illegal alien, would still be alive today if not for the Biden Administration’s border policies.

A poll released last week by the League of American Voters (LAW) showed  that 56% of Arizona voters think President Joe Biden’s border policies are to blame for crimes like Riley's murder.

"An illegal alien murdered Laken Riley, but the murderer had accomplices: Joe Biden and Secretary Mayorkas," Masters told PHX Reporter. "Laken would still be alive today if the Biden Administration hadn’t thrown open our southern border and let in millions of illegals, many of them hardened criminals."

"The Senate must pass the Laken Riley Act immediately, though Biden probably won’t sign it," Masters said. "We need Trump back in the White House and we need to deport violent illegal aliens before they can prey on innocent Americans like Laken."

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was found murdered on February 22, 2024, after going for a jog at the University of Georgia campus. Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, was charged in her murder. Riley had been killed by blunt force trauma to the head.

Ibarra had previously been arrested by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol on September 8, 2022 for entering the U.S. illegally near El Paso, Texas. He was then released pending adjudication of his claim for “asylum.”

He was then arrested again in August 2023 by the New York Police Department and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child and a motor vehicle license violation.

42% of Arizona voters said Biden policies bear a “great deal”of responsibility for crimes such as Riley’s murder by an illegal alien, while 14% said these policies bear “some” responsibility. 

Among Arizona voters who have heard a great deal about Riley’s murder, 71% say the Biden Administration has a great deal of responsibility for the murder. 

Only 52% of voters, however, have heard about Riley’s murder, with only 22% having heard a great deal about it. 

During his State of the Union address on March 7, Biden referred to Laken Riley as “Lincoln Riley” after U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.) shouted “Say her name!” to the president.

Lincoln Riley is the 40-year-old, male, head football coach of the University of Southern California football team. 

The U.S. House on March 7 passed the “Laken Riley Act” on a vote of 251-170. The bill would require the detention and deportment of illegal aliens charged with theft. 

Every Republican and 37 Democrats supported the measure, while 170 Democrats voted against it. No Arizona members of the U.S. House voted against the act, though Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-9) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7) did not vote.

The bill is now pending in the U.S. Senate.

The LAW poll also found that 72% of Arizona voters think the federal government is weak at securing the U.S. borders, reported the Grand Canyon Times. 

The survey was conducted among 600 likely Arizona voters on March 14-17, 2024 by North Star Public Opinion Research.

Masters is one of four candidates currently running in the Republican primary to represent the 8th Congressional District. The district is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R), who announced last year that she will be retiring at the end of the current term.

After growing up and attending high school in Tucson, Masters graduated from Stanford University and received his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He then co-founded legal research startup Judicata.

He is co-author of the bestselling business book, “Zero to One: Notes on a Startup” with Peter Thiel, and served as president of the Thiel Foundation. Masters married his wife, Catherine, in 2012 and they have four sons.