Georgia Republicans Push for Tighter Immigration Laws After Nursing Student’s Murder

U.S. border patrol agents process people entering the United States from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on March 29, 2023. Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images

Republican lawmakers in Georgia are seeking to tighten immigration laws after a university nursing student in Athens was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant.

Jose Antonio Ibarra—a 26-year-old from Venezuela who entered the country just 18 months ago—is the suspect in the killing of Laken Riley, 22, at Augusta University’s Athens campus.

Ms. Riley disappeared after her morning jog around a wooded area at the university on Feb. 22. Her body was discovered along her usual route later that same day after a friend reported her missing when she failed to return to campus.

Mr. Ibarra, who lived in an apartment complex at the university, was subsequently arrested following a review of campus security footage. He was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911, and concealing a death, according to reports.

Mr. Ibarra remains in custody. It is unclear whether or not he has applied for asylum.

In the wake of his arrest, Georgia House Republicans are pushing a proposal by Rep. Jesse Petrea to establish new requirements that mandate jail officials to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after determining whether an arrested individual is known to be in the country illegally.

Under House Bill 1105 (pdf), jail officials who fail to cooperate with federal immigration agents by not detaining suspected illegal immigrants, when enforcement officials provide a warrant, would be guilty of a misdemeanor.

The proposal advanced through the state House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee on Feb. 27 and heads to the full House for more debate.

Suspect Had Prior Arrests

Mr. Ibarra was first arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Sept. 8, 2022, after he crossed into the United States near El Paso, Texas, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

He was paroled and released for further processing, according to ICE. He was arrested by New York police roughly a year later and charged with “acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17” and a motor vehicle license violation, ICE said.

Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have since blamed President Joe Biden’s border policies for Ms. Riley’s death.

In a post on Truth Social earlier this week, President Trump said the Democrats’ “border INVASION is destroying our country and killing our citizens.”

“The horrible murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley at the University of Georgia should have NEVER happened!” President Trump wrote.

“When I am your president, we will immediately Seal the Border and stop the Invasion, and on Day One, we will begin the largest deportation operation of illegal CRIMINALS in American History! May God Bless Laken Riley and her family!!! Our prayers are with you!” he added.

Republicans Urge Biden to ‘Close the Border’

Elsewhere, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, also a Republican, condemned the Biden administration in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“It’s outrageous we still have no idea who is entering this country illegally and where they’re being released,” Mr. Kemp said. “Americans have a right to this information, and I’m demanding the Biden administration provide it so we don’t lose even more innocent lives like Laken Riley’s.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has also urged President Biden to use his statutory authority to close the border.

“For Laken and the countless many others lost to this border catastrophe, House Republicans will continue to fight tooth and nail for a return to law and order,” Mr. Johnson wrote on X on Feb. 24.

The White House, meanwhile, issued a statement to multiple publications in the wake of Ms. Riley’s murder, extending “deepest condolences to the family and loved ones” of the nursing student.

“People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty,” the statement added.

Following Ms. Riley’s murder, the University of Georgia has said it will spend $7.3 million to bolster campus security.

Meanwhile, House Republicans have demanded information about Mr. Ibarra from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.