The White House and the Biden campaign responded on Friday The death of a 12-year-old girl in Houston Two suspects were later found guilty of the death undocumented migrants.
According to the Houston Police Department, Jocelyn Nungaray was found drowned in a shallow creek on Monday.
“Our hearts go out to Jocelyn Nungaray’s family and loved ones,” a White House spokesman said.
“We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases,” the spokesperson said. “But in principle, anyone found guilty of such a heinous and shocking crime should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Pena, 26, were arrested and charged with her murder. Suspects crossed the border This year, they were allowed into the United States illegally and by the border patrol according to immigration authorities.
There were two men have an immigration violation From Immigration and Customs Enforcement in court filings.
The White House’s response comes as immigration and border security become top issues for voters heading to the November election. Moment NBC News survey from April found that 22% of registered voters said immigration and the border situation were the most important issues facing the country.
Former President Donald Trump blames the border policies of the Biden administration for Nungarai’s death. On Thursday, he said on Truth Social that “Biden has a new Biden Migrant Killing – It’s only going to get worse and it’s all Crooked Joe Biden’s fault.”
The Biden campaign responded by pointing to Trump’s role in the collapse Bilateral border agreement in Congress.
“Donald Trump is making Americans less safe by blocking a border deal,” Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said in a statement.
An NBC News review of city data for June shows that overall crime rates have declined in major cities that have received the most migrants from Texas, including Chicago, New York and Washington.
Nungarai’s death is the latest suspected migrant killing to spark a political firestorm. studies have shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than US-born citizens.
The man accused of murdering Laken Riley, Jose Antonio Ibarrahe was arrested before cross the border to the United States
There is Trump Riley called out‘s death while pushing for the White House, and Biden called Ibarradan “illegal” during his State of the Union address, after which he he regretted it using.
Trump also touched on the case of Ruby Garcia, who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant. He said he spoke with Garcia’s family during the April campaign. Garcia’s sister denied an allegation.
Antonio Planas and Jillian Frankel contributed.