Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed the federal government has not received an assessment from state and local governments about Laken Riley’s killer’s criminal conduct.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, the undocumented Venezuelan immigrant accused of Riley’s murder, was released on parole after he was first arrested by U.S. Border Patrol on September 8, 2022. Afterwards, he was allegedly involved in two criminal cases before being charged with Riley’s murder.
“Different cities have different levels of cooperation. In this case, we were not notified,” Mayorkas said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
of two incidents The charges Ybarra was arrested on include illegally driving a scooter without a license in New York in August and charges related to a shoplifting incident in Georgia.
Riley, 22, a nursing student at the University of Georgia in Athens, was assaulted and killed on Feb. 22 during a morning run, authorities said.
Some cities, including the Big Apple, have “sanctuary city” policies that limit cooperation with federal authorities who enforce U.S. immigration laws.
Athenian authorities publicly debated whether Whether it is a sanctuary city or not.
Mr. Mayorkas was initially slow to claim that the federal government had not been informed of Mr. Ybarra’s activities while appearing on “Face the Nation.” It took repeated questions from host Margaret Brennan to admit there was no cooperation.
Many Republican critics point out that Mr. Ybarra was released on parole, which is used when Border Patrol is overrun, and that Mr. Ybarra was not deported despite being suspected of having committed crimes before Mr. Riley’s murder. I’m angry at this.
“It’s an absolute tragedy. And our hearts are broken and our prayers are with the family,” Mayorkas said of Riley’s murder. “We strongly believe that if the city is aware of someone who poses a threat to public safety, we will request that information.”
“As a prosecutor who has prosecuted violent crimes and other crimes for 12 years, there is only one person to blame for a murder, and that is the murderer.”
Riley’s killing became a political flashpoint and a rallying cry for many critics of the Biden administration’s border security policies.
Mayorkas accompanied Biden on his visit to Brownsville, Texas, while former President Donald Trump was visiting El Paso, about 300 miles away, last Thursday.
There were an estimated 176,205 encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in January, down from a record high of 301,983 in December. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection numbers.
Mr. Mayorkas echoed Mr. Biden’s rebuke to Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill for undermining a bipartisan agreement to address border issues weeks ago.
Last month, the Republican-led House voted to impeach Mayorkas on charges of dereliction of duty. Asked how he hoped the Senate would dismiss the trial altogether, he balked.
“Of course, I’m going to let the Senate carry out its responsibilities that it thinks is best for our country. I’m going to focus on my job,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
