Republicans in the House of Representatives are now calling on DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to turn over any information about the illegal immigrant accused of killing a nursing student.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-California) wrote a letter requesting information about the 26- year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra.
The undocumented Venezuelan migrant is accused of last week’s brutal murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley student at the University of Georgia.
Jordan and McClintock want the “case history” on Ibarra, as well as any information regarding his treatment by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.
Their demand of Mayorkas comes after the House voted earlier this month to impeach Biden’s secretary of homeland security.
It also comes as Republicans blame Biden’s policies at the southern border for Laken’s death and the increase in crimes against U.S. citizens by undocumented immigrants.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are demanding that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas turn over all information about the illegal migrant accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley, 22
Laken Riley (pictured) was beaten to death last week while jogging near the University of Georgia
House Whip Tom Emmer told DailyMail.com: ‘Laken Riley was murdered because of Joe Biden’s open borders policy.’
“Accountability must start with the Biden administration undoing the 64 executive actions that effectively opened our borders and created this deadly crisis in the first place,” the Minnesota lawmaker added.
Riley went for a run last week when she was killed by blunt force trauma to the head, according to UGA police, and her body was left in the woods.
The horrific crime has renewed calls for more action at the southern border, especially in vetting those entering the country without legal status.
Republicans in Congress plan to reallocate $15 billion that Democrats wanted to use to fund a massive deployment of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents to instead boost border security.
The lack of security and control at the southern border has led Republicans to blame Democratic policies for the crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the US – including the recent murder of Riley.
“Laken Riley was murdered because of Joe Biden’s open borders policy,” Republican House Representative Tom Emmer told DailyMail.com.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was identified and charged in the alleged murder of nursing student Laken Riley, 22. The Venezuelan migrant lives near Athens with illegal status
“Accountability must start with the Biden administration undoing the 64 executive actions that effectively opened our borders and created this deadly crisis in the first place,” the Minnesota lawmaker added.
Both Biden and Trump are visiting Texas on Thursday as the border quickly became one of the biggest issues in the 2024 election.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other immigration officials have long said they are overwhelmed at the border. Republicans want to hire more CBP agents.
ICE enforcement and removal operations arrested 73,822 immigrants with criminal histories in fiscal year 2023, with each illegal immigrant having committed an average of four crimes per suspect.
Venezuelan immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, entered the US illegally in 2022, was granted border parole and allowed to enter the country.
In New York, Ibarra was charged with allegedly acting in a manner harmful to a child and driving without a license before heading to Georgia, where he is now charged with Riley’s murder.
Police arrested and charged Ibarra with malice murder, criminal mischief, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, obstructing a 911 call and concealing the death of another.
Ibarra’s brother Diego, who is also an illegal immigrant, had three pending charges in Georgia before he was charged Friday with green card fraud after an interview with police in the search for Jose.
Former President Donald Trump says it is Biden’s fault that the nursing student was killed and pointed to the president’s lax policies at the southern border and the massive influx at the border since he took office.
Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden’s “border invasion” for the killing of a University of Georgia nursing student. Pictured: Trump visits part of his wall on the southern border in Alamo, Texas, on January 12, 2021
Laken Riley, 22, was jogging Thursday when her roommate reported her missing. Her body was found in a wooded area near Lake Herrick in Athens, Georgia
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday that if he were to run for president again, he would “initiate the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals in American history.”
Riley studied nursing at the University of Georgia. She went jogging last week and was reported missing by her roommate when she didn’t return. Her body was found in a wooded area near Lake Herrick.
Riley’s family responded to her killing by asking for prayers and privacy in a statement to Fox News.
‘Crooked Joe Biden’s Border INVASION Is Destroying Our Country & Killing Our Citizens!’ Trump complained in a Truth Social post on Monday.
“The horrific murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley at the University of Georgia should NEVER have happened!” he added. “The monster who illegally took his own life entered our country in 2022… and was then released AGAIN by the Radical Democrats in New York after injuring a CHILD!!”
Ibarra is being held in the Athens-Clarke County Jail. The 26-year-old is not a U.S. citizen but lives near Athens, Georgia. A judge denied bond Saturday morning.
The latter only supports Republicans’ claims that with such a large flow of migration across the border, it is impossible to know for sure who will be allowed to live in the country for months and years at a time while they await asylum proceedings.
The border has become a No. 1 issue for Americans in recent years, especially Republicans and pro-Trump subsets of the party.
Trump has promised the “largest deportation” of illegal immigrants in American history if he becomes president again in 2024.
Meanwhile, Biden is trying to address the issue before November.
Reports emerged that Biden is considering executive action at the border that would create stricter standards for seeking asylum and allow for an expedited deportation process for illegal crossings.
Democrats and progressives complain that this is too similar to what Trump did at the border during his time in office.
Biden will visit the southern border in Texas on Thursday, which the White House announced after Trump said he would also go to the border state that day.
President Biden will visit the southern border on Thursday – the same day Trump will be in Eagle Pass and also visit a popular crossing along the Texas-Mexico border
“If I am your President, we will immediately close the border, stop the invasion, and on day one we will begin the largest deportation operation of illegal CRIMINALS in American history!” Trump wrote in his post. “May God bless Laken Riley and her family!!! Our prayers are with you!’
Biden’s visit to the southern border state this week will take place in Brownsville, Texas, where the president will meet with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement officials and local leaders.
Trump’s Thursday visit will take place about 300 miles from Biden to the northwest along the border with Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Record numbers of migrants have crossed the southern border under Biden.
There were a record number of migrant encounters in December, when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a new high of 301,983 crossings in one month. This number does not include escapees – or those who evaded detection by border authorities.