Tipsheet

Latest Development About the Illegal Alien in the Georgia Student Murder Story Is Infuriating

Laken Riley went for a run on Thursday and never returned. She was reported missing by her friend, which led to authorities discovering her body later that afternoon. Riley was an undergraduate at the University of Georgia in Athens and enrolled as a nursing student at nearby Augusta University. She had made the fall semester dean’s list. On Friday, February 23, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested for her murder. Ibarra is an illegal alien from Venezuela who crossed over in 2022. He was arrested in New York City for what appears to be vehicular charges on September 14, 2023—he got charged with “injury to [a] child less than 17 and no license.” 

The media framed Ibarra as an “Athens man” and have been allergic to reporting that this man is an illegal immigrant. Yet, Georgia State House Rep. Houston Gaines alleges that Ibarra was arrested for shoplifting in Athens in October of 2023 and had an active bench warrant for his arrest since last December for failing to appear in court: 

Ibarra entered the United States when the Biden administration said the border was secure and closed. Maybe that’s why they’re keeping their mouths shut about Ms. Riley’s murder. 

As with Kate Steinle in California and a host of other families who have suffered unduly, Ms. Riley’s death is directly attributable to the Democratic Party’s complicity concerning the deteriorating situation at the southern border and the lack of enforcement of federal immigration laws. This tragedy was avoidable.