Feds: Georgia Student’s Accused Killer Entered U.S. Illegally, Was Paroled Under Biden Policies

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Sunday the Venezuelan man accused of murdering a Georgia nursing student entered the United States illegally but was released under Biden administration parole policies, then slipped away a second time from authorities after an arrest under New York City’s sanctuary policies.

ICE’s official statement confirmed reporting by Just the News on Saturday, and furthered concerns that the murder of Laken Riley, 22, near the University of Georgia campus in Athens on Friday was directly impacted by the liberalization of immigration policies by Democrats.

Jose Ibarra, 26, was arrested by Customs and Border Protection agents on Sept. 8, 2022, after he unlawfully entered the U.S. near El Paso, Texas, but was “paroled and released for further processing,” ICE said.

Ibarra was arrested again a year later, on Sept. 14, 2023, by NYPD officers and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child under 17 and a motor vehicle license violation, ICE added.

Federal immigration officials said the Venezuelan national was released by New York authorities before a detainer could be issued. As a so-called sanctuary city, New York generally prevents police from complying with ICE detainers.

The official timeline of Ibarra’s immigration record only renewed ire among Republicans demanding that President Joe Biden tighten border security and that prosecutors deliver swift justice to Riley’s killer.

“Ibarra is an illegal alien and murdered a young woman the age of my own children,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X. “Deportation is not enough. He deserves the death penalty.”

The case also furthered conservative distrust of legacy news media, which was slow to report the illegal immigration status of the suspect.

The Associated Press wire service ran an entire story suggesting Riley’s murder “has once again put the spotlight on the dangers female runners face” without mentioning Ibarra entered the country illegally.

The backlash was fierce.

“This is disgusting, @AP,” former Trump Treasury official Monica Crowley wrote on X. “The killing of Laken Riley had nothing to do with ‘the fears of solo female athletes.’ Her murder is the direct result of Biden’s wide open border that allowed in her illegal alien killer.

“Your putrid propagandizing for Biden & murderers is sickening,” Crowley added.