The killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus last week shocked and horrified people far beyond Athens. On Monday, the immigration status of the suspect in her killing reignited a debate over immigration policy in the Georgia Legislature and appears to have increased the odds of immigration-related legislation becoming state law.
According to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, 26-year-old Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan, entered the country illegally in 2022 and was previously arrested in New York and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child, according to news reports. Athens-Clarke County Police Department documents show Ibarra was also cited in Athens for shoplifting in October and had a bench warrant for his arrest for failing to show up to court.
Ibarra remains in police custody after he was denied bond over the weekend.
Gov. Brian Kemp, who announced earlier this month that the Georgia National Guard would deploy additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, continued to place the blame for Riley’s death on federal immigration policy and President Joe Biden.
“Look, the president could come out and change policies today,” Kemp said during a Monday appearance on Fox News. “He could simply signal with the bully pulpit of the White House, ‘local law enforcement, please, if you have these people that are here, that are illegal, that are non-citizens and they commit a crime in our country, please notify ICE.’ It’s as simple as that. ICE can work with local governments, with state governments to deal with these people and hopefully prevent situations like we saw with Laken.”
Top Democrats accused the GOP majority of playing politics during a time of tragedy.
“The majority saw her death as an opportunity to promote and defend Donald Trump,” said Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler. “Georgia’s Republicans rushed to blame President Biden for this murderous presence in…
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