DHS Stonewalls Oversight of Immigration Record of Laken Riley’s Murderer

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairmen Jim Jordan (R-OH), Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Ben Cline (R-VA) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reiterating the Committee's outstanding request for basic immigration information about Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal alien who is accused of murdering 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley. If DHS continues to stonewall the Committee's investigation, the Committee will be forced to use compulsory process.

Read the letter:

Dear Secretary Mayorkas:

The Committee on the Judiciary continues to conduct oversight of the Biden Administration's enforcement of federal immigration law. We write about our outstanding request for basic immigration information about Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal alien who murdered 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley.

On February 23, 2024, Ibarra was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Laken on February 22. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Biden Administration released Ibarra into the United States in 2022 after he "entered the U.S. illegally from Venezuela," paroling him into the country despite his reported affiliation with the dangerous Tren de Aragua gang. The Biden Administration's policies, articulated in your September 30, 2021, memorandum, prevent ICE from prioritizing otherwise removable aliens for arrest until such aliens commit a "serious crime." Accordingly, Laken's alleged murderer was free to commit this horrific crime despite previously committing crimes in Georgia and New York.

On February 27, 2024, we wrote to you requesting information and documents regarding Ibarra, including, but not limited to, his alien file. We requested a response by March 12. To date, however, DHS has not provided the requested information. DHS's failure to produce the requested information prevents the Committee from fulfilling its constitutional oversight obligations. Accordingly, we write to reiterate our outstanding requests in our February 27, 2024, letter, which is attached for your convenience. Please provide this information as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 28, 2024. Please be advised that the Committee will use compulsory process if these requests remain outstanding.

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