America was shocked, saddened, and outraged by the February murder of University of Georgia student Laken Riley by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, becoming a symbol of the ongoing border crisis. Ibarra was supposedly released into the country in 2022, prompting Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) to spearhead a recent letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding information about the killer.
"Reports indicate that Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, was previously apprehended by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2022 near El Paso, Texas, where he was released into the country through parole," Sen. Scott wrote, describing other criminal acts Ibarra committed before the Riley killing.
11 Alive provided additional details about Ibarra, who relocated to New York City after crossing the border. Approximately a year later, he was arrested for child endangerment, as he drove a moped with a five-year-old boy in the back, who was not wearing a helmet (11 Alive described the boy as the son of Ibarra's wife, though it is unclear if the boy is Ibarra's son or stepson). However, CBS reported the New York City Police Department did not have records of Ibarra's arrest.
Notably, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could have taken custody of Ibarra at this point, but "he was released by the NYPD before a detainer could be issued," according to a statement from ICE.
After relocating to Athens, Georgia, around October, Ibarra and his brother received citations for shoplifting but were not arrested, though he failed to appear in court. In February, Laken Riley was murdered, and Ibarra was arrested as the prime suspect.
"This tragedy raises serious questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) ability to effectively secure our homeland. The failure to remove an individual who consistently demonstrated a clear disregard for U.S. laws, despite numerous opportunities to do so, highlights a risk to public safety and poses a threat to American lives," Sen. Scott's letter continued.
As a result, Scott demanded every scrap of information from the Department of Homeland Security could find about Ibarra, ranging from internal documents to international criminal databases and state-level law enforcement.
According to Scott's colleague Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in a recent Select Intelligence Committee hearing with FBI Director Christopher Wray, one of Ibarra's brothers is suspected of having ties to the infamous Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, and at least two members perpetrated the February attack on two NYPD officers.
