Republicans at the state and national levels are pushing for tougher immigration tactics after an undocumented immigrant, pointing to the death of a woman on the University of Georgia campus. He was charged with the murder of a 22-year-old young man Laken Riley.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan previously arrested by federal authorities after crossing the U.S. border, was arrested last week in connection with the killing of Augusta University College of Nursing student Riley. Republicans blamed President Joe Biden’s policies for his death.
On Monday, former President Donald Trump cited Ibarra and Riley hen Truth SocialHe said he would “immediately close the border” if he returned to office.
“The monster that took her life was smuggled into our country in 2022…and then released AGAIN by Radical Democrats in New York after injuring a CHILD!!” Trump said. “When I become your president, we will immediately seal the Border, end the invasion, and begin the largest illegal CRIMINAL deportation operation in American history on Day One!”
Ibarra, who lives in Athens, where the University of Georgia is located, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on September 8, 2022, after crossing into the United States. Customs Protection.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, also used Riley’s death to criticize the Biden administration.
“We still don’t know who entered this country illegally and where they were released,” Kemp said. said X on Sunday. “Americans have a right to this information, and I’m demanding it from the Biden administration so we don’t lose more innocent lives like Laken Riley.”
Riley’s body was found Thursday morning after a friend reported her missing after she didn’t return from a jog A field on the University of Georgia campus through forest paths.
New York police arrested Ibarra, 26, about a year after federal authorities arrested him at the border, according to ICE. At that time, he was accused of injuring a child under the age of 17, as well as violating the license of a motor vehicle. Ibarra was released before ICE took him into custody, the agency said.
Over the weekend, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., drew attention to Laken’s death. in a post about X He called on Biden to “close the border.”
“The brutal killer who took Laken’s life was one of the millions of illegal aliens that the Biden Administration simply released and brought into our country,” Johnson said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
Johnson’s comments came after he recently criticized bipartisan bill that would include the emergency authority would allow the Department of Homeland Security to close the border if migration statistics meet certain parameters.
Trump was the driving force behind torpedoing the bill while calling out Republicans vote against he. Senate Republicans eventually blocked Arguing that it is a legislative measure would lead the most aggressive border law in decades, did not go far enough.
Biden, who criticized Trump’s efforts to kill the bill, did argued Trump, his likely opponent in November, will “weaponize this problem rather than actually solve it.” There is Trump he claimed on social media, saying the border bill was a “trap for Republicans to take the blame” for the border “just in time” for the election.
So are Biden and Trump Both of is planned visit The US-Mexico border on Thursday. The White House said that Biden “will discuss the urgent need to pass a bipartisan border security agreement in the Senate, which is the toughest and fairest set of border security reforms in decades.”
A large majority of Americans consider immigration to be a major issue in the election. 84 percent of the respondents are of one nationality Monmouth University A survey conducted this month stated that illegal immigration is a serious problem.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has called the Democrats Going on the offensive on border issues with House Democratic candidate Tom Suozzi winning. New York special congressional electure this month “could serve as a road map for Democrats” in November.
“Suozzi has sent aggressive messages on this issue, running ads highlighting his support for a secure border and legal pathways to citizenship,” Murphy wrote. memo to the Democrats On February 14. “He flipped the script on his Republican opponent, framing him as frivolous on border security and turning a destructive political liability into an advantage as he opposes a bipartisan border bill.”