Republican representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio and Tom McClintock of California on Tuesday demanded that Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas hand over any information the agency has on the illegal immigrant suspected of murdering a Georgia nursing student last week.
In a two-page letter, Jordan and McClintock asked that Mayorkas comply with the House Judiciary Committee’s request on details and records pertaining to the immigration status of Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26. In September 2022, the Venezuelan national illegally crossed into El Paso, Texas, and was released on parole by Customs and Border Protection shortly thereafter.
“Criminal aliens exploit vulnerabilities in our nation’s immigration system to the detriment of those in the United States,” the GOP chairmen wrote. “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 inquiry requests information on Ibarra, including his immigration case history, entries into the U.S., CBP processing encounters, and whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement has an immigration detainer on him.
In a previous statement reported Sunday, ICE said its Atlanta field office lodged a detainer against Ibarra while he’s currently imprisoned in Georgia.
Mayorkas must provide the requested information by 5 p.m. on March 12.
The letter comes as Mayorkas soon faces the prospect of a Senate impeachment trial after the House impeached him two weeks ago. The trial is expected to be delayed as Congress rushes to avert two possible government shutdowns by the end of this week and next.
Police arrested and charged Ibarra on Friday for the kidnapping and murder of Laken Riley, 22, who attended Augusta University’s College of Nursing in Athens, Ga. She was found dead at the University of Georgia, where she previously attended as an undergraduate.
New court documents were revealed on Tuesday accusing Ibarra of “seriously disfiguring her body” and “disfiguring her skull.”
He allegedly caused “great bodily harm with an object” and prevented Riley from calling the police when he kidnapped her during a jog on the Georgia campus. The affidavits do not disclose the object Ibarra used to carry out the murder and how exactly Riley was killed. Her initial cause of death was deemed blunt force trauma.
After the killing mid-day Thursday, Ibarra allegedly brought her body to a secluded area where it was later found.
It was reported Ibarra was previously arrested in New York City over charges related to actions harming a child under the age of 17 and a motor-vehicle license violation. At the time, he was released before ICE could issue a detainer. However, the New York Police Department said it has no record of Ibarra’s arrest on file.