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Mitch Landrieu, the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign co-chair, has said President Biden misspoke when he used the term “illegal” to describe José Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who killed Laken Riley.

Landrieu characterized the President’s choice of words as a “small mistake.” He added, “He probably should have used a different word, and I think he would know that. But what you should notice about that is not that he made a small mistake. The big thing that he did right — and this is what this President always does — is express empathy to people.”

This comes after Biden referred to Ibarra as an “illegal” during a response to heckling by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. This President has since ignited a debate, with critics and immigrant advocates calling out the President for his language, which they say contradicts the values of inclusivity and respect.

Landrieu also highlighted steps that President Biden has taken to initiate immigration reform in Congress. He said, “On top of that the more important issue is as the president when he first got in office, one of the first things he did was send an immigration bill to Congress and they did nothing…do-nothing right-wing members of Congress shut [the bipartisan deal] down because Donald Trump told them to.”