GOP lawmakers request DHS info on Jose Ibarra

(NewsNation) — Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee are sending a letter to the Department of Homeland Security asking for more information about Jose Ibarra, the illegal immigrant accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

Ibarra, 26, faces multiple murder and assault charges after Riley’s body was found Thursday on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Riley, a former UGA student who was going to Augusta University at the time of her death, had been reported missing by a friend at 12:07 p.m. after failing to return home from a run. Authorities have not revealed how Riley was killed but said her death was caused by blunt force trauma.

A Venezuelan citizen, Ibarra unlawfully crossed into the United States in 2022, according to immigration authorities. Sources confirmed he came through El Paso, Texas, and was detained before being released.

NewsNation obtained a letter from Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., being sent to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The letter notes Ibarra’s arrest Friday in connection to Riley’s death was not his first — in August, he was arrested and charged with “acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.”

“The Biden Administration’s border and immigration policies only increase the likelihood that criminal aliens will successfully enter and remain in the U.S.” the letter said. “Pursuant to the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to conduct oversight of federal immigration policy and procedures.”

Jordan and McClintock wrote in the letter they want information on: Ibarra’s immigration case history; the time, date and place of all his entries into the United States; Ibarra’s processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against him.

The lawmakers gave DHS a deadline of 5 p.m. March 12 to provide the information.

Read the full article here.