The backstory of the man suspected in the murder of a University of Georgia student has ignited an avalanche of criticism and escalating calls to secure the border.
The Daily Wire explains:
Venezuelan Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested on Friday for the murder of Laken Hope Riley, a student at the University of Georgia. Ibarra illegally crossed into the United States through El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 before being released due to lack of detention space, according to Department of Homeland Security sources who spoke with NewsNation reporter Ali Bradley.
Riley was found dead on Thursday after going out on a jog in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus. Blunt force trauma was the reported cause of death.
Ibarra was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another. According to Bradley, Ibarra was also recently arrested in New York five months ago for charges related to injury to a child.
Local police have not yet confirmed Ibarra’sIbarra’s immigration status, but did arrest Ibarra’s 29-year-old brother Diego with green card fraud after he was questioned by police in relation to the murder of Riley.
University of Georgia (UGA) Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark has since confirmed that Ibarra “lives here in Athens, but is not a U.S. citizen.”
Congressional Republicans have responded to developing story by calling on President Biden to implement tougher border security measures and for the administration to face consequences for the lax policies it embraced.
“The blood of Laken Riley is on the hands of Joe Biden, Alejandro Mayorkas, and the government of Athens-Clarke County,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) declared in a post on X. “This man had no business being in America, much less the UGA community to brutally murder this young American while she was on a run.”
“To put this in simpler terms: if this border was secure, and Athens not a sanctuary city, Laken Riley would be alive,” Collins added. “She would still be talking to her family, hanging out with friends, studying to be a nurse, and working toward serving her community and saving the lives of others. Instead, she is dead because the people who took an oath to preserve our Constitution and faithfully execute our laws refuse to do so because they think it benefits them politically.”
“How many more Americans have to die before Joe Biden will secure the border?” Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) asked rhetorically.
Other lawmakers were equally outraged.
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