Murder of student by illegal alien heats up open border debate
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student out on her morning run at the University of Georgia when authorities say a stranger dragged her into a secluded area and killed her, sending shockwaves through campus as police searched for a suspect.
The arrest of a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case put the tragedy at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Former President Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden and his border policies for the Augusta University student’s fatal beating.
It is familiar ground for Trump. As president, he created an office for families whose loved ones were victims of violent crimes committed by immigrants, which was quickly dismantled under Biden.
The debate over the nation’s broken immigration system has emerged as a major campaign issue amid an unprecedented migration surge that has strained budgets in cities including New York, Chicago and Denver and divided some Democrats.
Biden has criticized Republicans. He will visit the Texas border city of Brownsville on Thursday, while Trump will be in another Texas border city, Eagle Pass.
On his social media site, Trump on Monday potsted, “Crooked Joe Biden’s Border INVASION is destroying our country and killing our citizens! The horrible murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley at the University of Georgia should have NEVER happened!”
Democrats have been more muted.
The White House extended “deepest condolences” to Riley’s family.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, predicted Riley’s death is “gonna change this election as much as anything.”
“That’s a parent’s worst nightmare,” the South Carolina Republican said.
Families of victims have heartbreaking stories.
Don Rosenberg, a retired entertainment and publishing executive, lost his son, 25-year-old son, Drew, in 2010, when a Honduran man who was in the country illegally repeatedly struck him with his car in San Francisco and tried to flee. As he spoke with families whose loved ones were killed by immigrants, he concluded authorities were ignoring them, even protecting perpetrators.
“I thought my case was an anomaly. No, my case was the rule,” said Rosenberg, president of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime.
Rosenberg says the high-profile cases won’t resonate with voters until news organizations give them more exposure “because Trump only talks to people who support Trump.”
The man accused of killing Riley, Jose Ibarra, was arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, amid an unprecedented surge in migration and released to pursue his case in immigration court. At the time, the Border Patrol was releasing migrants with orders to appear at an immigration office, not even scheduling court appearances. That practice, which added years to how long it takes to resolve an immigration case, largely ceased in February 2023.
It is unclear if Ibarra, 26, followed those instructions or applied for asylum. Federal officials say he was arrested by New York police in August for child endangerment and released, though New York officials said Sunday they had no record of the arrest.
Iberra was living in Athens, Georgia, when Riley was killed last week. His attorney has not responded to requests for comment.
Trump first mentioned the killing on Friday, calling it part of what he has labeled “Biden migrant crime.” It comes after a group of migrants brawling with police in New York touched off a political furor and renewed debate over policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The site Breitbart News linked Riley’s death to other women who were killed by people in the country illegally, including Kate Steinle, who was shot at a crowded San Francisco pier in 2015. “Their deaths were all 100% preventable,” the site said.