Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Sunday criticized the Biden administration over the death of Augusta University student Laken Riley, which was attributed to an illegal immigrant.
Kemp told the host of “Fox & Friends Sunday” that President Joe Biden had asked him about the killing of Riley, who was found missing near a lake on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus. He said he has not heard back yet. Jose Antonio Ybarra, the suspect who killed the 22-year-old nursing student, entered the United States illegally in 2022, according to a statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the Daily Caller.
“Every state is a border state. We’re very frustrated,” Kemp said. “I mean, look at what Greg Abbott did. He has to secure his own internal borders. I mean, Democrats are furious at him for doing that. But, you know, he had the last straw. That’s what the people of Texas do.”
Kemp said he, like many Republican governors, has visited the southern border and noted that he and other governors have been “raising this issue” with the president “for over two years.”
“Right now, we have 7.5, 8.5, millions of people coming into our country,” Kemp said. “And people like these two came to this country and committed crimes and no one was told about it. And why weren’t they sent back? Why not American citizens? Are we going to allow people to come here and break the law and not be repatriated?”
Ybarra, who has a significant criminal history, was arrested Friday, shortly after Riley’s body was discovered. The suspect lived in Athens, Georgia, after crossing the southern border into El Paso, Texas. News Nation reported that Ibarra had previously been released from authorities’ custody due to lack of detention space. (Related article: A woman who hosts illegal immigrants in her home says the experience is like hiring a “personal chef.”)
Asked if the suspect might be deported, Kemp told Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy: “I can assure you this person is not going anywhere.” “He is incarcerated now. There is no bail. He will stand trial here in our state.”
