Laken Riley is not the first American citizen to die because President Joe Biden refuses to enforce our nation’s immigration laws. And sadly, she won’t be the last. But the story of her death, particularly the details of how her killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, came to be living in an apartment complex next to the University of Georgia campus, may hopefully spur Biden to reverse course and start valuing American lives over the supposed right of immigrants to come here.
Riley was a young nursing student at Augusta University who had just transferred from the University of Georgia, where she was still a member of her sorority. She was a dean’s list student who enjoyed running and felt safe on the trails of the University of Georgia’s Athens campus.
Riley had every right to feel safe in Athens. According to the chief of police, until her death, there had not been a homicide on campus in over 30 years.
What Riley did not know was that on Sept. 8, 2022, her eventual killer, Ibarra, his wife, and his wife’s young child were arrested near El Paso, Texas, for illegally crossing the southern border. Ibarra was not the father of the young child he crossed with. In fact, the only reason Ibarra and his wife got married was to increase the chance they would be released into the United States after they were arrested. Like millions of other immigrants around the world, they knew Biden was more likely to release them into the country if they were arrested as a family.
Ibarra and his wife also knew their final destination before they crossed: the Covenant House in New York City. They were not sent to New York because of some dastardly plan concocted by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX). They were bound for New York because they knew they would be given shelter there. And they were.
Ibarra was then arrested over a year later in Queens for endangering the life of his wife’s son. He had taken the boy on his moped while delivering food for DoorDash and Uber. He was also cited for driving without a license.
He should have been taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement then. But New York City is a sanctuary city. They do not cooperate with ICE on immigration cases. But it wouldn’t have mattered if they did. Under Biden, neither child endangerment nor driving without a license are serious enough crimes to merit ICE making the effort to deport someone. Ibarra was again released.
Two months later, Ibarra broke up with his wife and moved down to Athens, where his brother, who was also released by Biden into the country, was working illegally for the university using a fraudulent green card. Ibarra’s brother had been arrested on shoplifting and drunk driving charges. But Athens is also a sanctuary city, and neither shoplifting nor drunk driving are serious enough crimes to merit deportation under Biden either.
And that is how Ibarra came to be living in an apartment complex near a trail used by young female college students. In connection with Riley’s death, Ibarra has been charged with felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and hindering a 911 call.
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Democrats love to point out that illegal immigrants are convicted of violent crimes at just half the rate of native-born Americans. But 100% of the crimes committed by illegal immigrants could have been prevented if they were never allowed into the country. But for Biden’s catch-and-release border policies, Laken Riley would be alive today.
There is no law stopping ICE from working with local law enforcement to deport immigrants when they commit crimes. No act of Congress is needed to authorize ICE to deport criminal immigrants. In fact, ICE is required, by law, to remove them. It is only because of Biden’s use of executive power that they are allowed to stay. Biden should change ICE deportation priorities, and he should do it now before more people die.