Illegal Immigrant Accused Of Laken Riley Murder Freed By Homeland Security

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Apr 19, 2024

In yet another slap to the face of American citizens, it has been revealed that the illegal immigrant charged with murdering Laken Riley, Jose Ibarra, was freed from detention by Homeland Security officials due to a reported lack of space to hold him, leading to the tragic death of a young American working to build a future she will never get to see.

During a Senate hearing on Thursday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) grilled Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about releasing Ibarra under the secretary’s parole authority: “He had a criminal record to start with, he’s in the country on illegal grounds, you have falsely and illegally allowed him in, he commits a crime against a child, it’s expunged,” Hawley stated firmly.

The senator contended that a lack of detention space does not meet the standards for freeing the murder suspect under Mayorkas’ parole power and alleged the secretary had violated the law. 

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) also pressed Mayorkas, asking, “How did the murderer of Laken Riley get into this country? And what is the statute that allowed you to do it?” Paul continued, “How could you? And how could you sleep at night, you know, having done that?”

Hawley also revealed Ibarra’s confidential immigration file. According to his report on the document, Ibarra entered the U.S. on Sept. 8, 2022, and was quickly paroled. The following July, he reported to immigration authorities in New York and was fingerprinted, after which his criminal history was revealed.

In September, Ibarra was arrested in New York for allegedly harming a child but the case was dropped and he, unsurprisingly, was allowed to remain in the country. By November, Ibarra had applied for a work permit that DHS granted in December, despite knowing about his criminal record.

Even while recognizing the lack of ICE beds, Mayorkas has consistently requested that Congress slash detention bed space in his budgets. Lawmakers rebuffed these requests and instead increased the number of beds available to the department.

Confirming a flagrant disregard for the safety of Americans, Mayorkas’ latest budget proposal again aims to cut detention capacity for migrants as he releases killers into the community for lack of detention capacity. 

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