What’s happening: Venezuelan man Jose Ibarra faces multiple charges of murder and kidnapping in the brutal killing of 22-year-old Georgia student Laken Riley. Ibarra’s status as an illegal migrant has renewed criticism of left-wing border policies.
How he got here: Ibarra illegally crossed the U.S. border in 2022 but was released under President Joe Biden’s parole program, reportedly due to a lack of space to keep him detained. Courts have deemed the program illegal.
- Criminal record: Ibarra was later arrested in New York City and charged with “acting in a manner to injure a child,” but was released before border officials could initiate deportation proceedings. NYC’s so-called sanctuary city laws would have limited local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with the federal government, regardless.
- Gruesome details: Police assert Ibarra attacked Riley while she was out jogging, beat her so hard that he disfigured her skull, and dragged her body “to a secluded area” to cover it up. Her murder was a “crime of opportunity” with no clear motive, according to her university’s police department.
Why it matters: Many consider the alleged murder yet another case of senseless violence that could have been prevented if federal immigration law was simply enforced as it stands.
The pattern: In the past two months alone, illegal migrants across the country have been charged in connection with the beating of police officers, the rape of a 14-year-old girl, a shooting that injured a woman, the stabbing death of another migrant, the hit-and-run death of a 10-year-old, and the murder of a two-year-old.