Suspect used stolen ID, official says
Lawyer for accused disputes claim client was in U.S. illegally
A farmworker accused of killing an Iowa college student appears to have used someone else’s identification to pass an immigrant employment check, a government official says.
MONTEZUMA, Iowa — A farmworker accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts, an Iowa college student whose body was found in a remote cornfield this week, appears to have used someone else’s identification to pass an immigrant employment check, a senior government official said Wednesday.
The suspect, Cristhian Rivera, 24, used stolen documentation in order to pass a federal government electronic identity check at the farm where he had worked for the past several years, according to a senior Homeland Security official who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke anonymously.
Rivera’s lawyer, Allan Richards, disputed the government’s claims that his client was in the country illegally and said President Donald Trump’s comments highlighting Rivera’s immigration status could prejudice future jurors.
“For sad and sorry Trump to say that they’re illegal without even giving them a hearing is totally wrong,” Richards said in an interview after a court hearing.
The discovery of a body believed to be Tibbetts’ this week marked a tragic turn in a case that has haunted this rural Iowa county for weeks. Tibbetts, 20, disappeared after going for a jog on July 18 in nearby Brooklyn, Iowa.
Rivera was ordered held on a $5 million cash bond during a brief court appearance Wednesday afternoon.
Rivera worked for years on a farm owned by a prominent Republican family, and his arrest was quickly cited by conservative politicians as tragic proof of a flawed immigration system.
“You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in, very sadly from Mexico, and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman,” Trump said at a campaign rally Tuesday night.
Richards, the defense lawyer, said his client came to the United States at 17 with the equivalent of a middle-school education. He said he had worked on a dairy farm and “complied with his documented status since arriving in the USA.”
But Shawn Neudauer, a spokesman for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, said Wednesday that Rivera was “an illegal alien from Mexico.” He said the authorities had placed an immigration detainer on him after his arrest, a move requiring that he be turned over to immigration authorities after any criminal proceedings by the state.
Claims by Rivera’s employer, Yarrabee Farms, that the federal government cleared Rivera for work raised questions about the accuracy of the E-Verify system long lauded by Republicans as a way to prevent the hiring of workers living in the country illegally. “This individual has worked at our farms for four years, was vetted through the government’s EVerify system, and was an employee in good standing,” Dane Lang, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement. “On Monday, the authorities visited our farm and talked to our employees. We have cooperated fully with their investigation.”
Though Trump has argued for stronger border enforcement to protect against crimes committed by immigrants, research has shown little evidence that there is a connection.
Several studies, over many years, have concluded that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States.
In the hours before Rivera’s court appearance, Tibbetts’ family released a statement saying, “Our hearts are broken.”
“On behalf of Mollie’s entire family, we thank all of those from around the world who have sent their thoughts and prayers for our girl,” the statement said. “We know that many of you will join us as we continue to carry Mollie in our hearts forever.”