She was 22 years old. She loved to exercise. She wanted to care for children as a nurse. She had dreams and goals for the many years of life she envisioned ahead of her.
Yet because of the presence of a dangerous man who was in the country illegally, Laken Riley’s life, future, and potential to help others was brutally snuffed out in a February attack just outside of the University of Georgia's campus.
This killer had entered the United States in September 2022 in the El Paso, Texas, area. He was then arrested in New York after a separate offense. Both times, law enforcement had this person within their grasp, but he slipped through the net, leading to his most atrocious deed.
Laken Riley’s tragic killing sparked sadness and outrage among millions of people across America. These emotions were not misplaced or politically motivated. The country rightly realized that Riley’s death did not have to happen because it was preventable. It was Laken Riley’s own government officials in President Joe Biden's administration that allowed her killer to enter and remain in the country and lie in wait for his time to commit this monstrous offense.
Unfortunately, Riley’s story is not unique to the nation. Many residents have been harmed in various ways by illegal immigrants, who largely treat our nation’s borders as nothing more than revolving doors on their way to desired destinations.
Just recently, two Venezuelan nationals who were illegally in the United States allegedly killed a 12-year-old girl in Houston. The girl, Jocelyn Nungaray, encountered the men outside of a convenience store and may have spent some time with them before her horrific strangulation, according to law enforcement. The illegal immigrants also entered the U.S. through the El Paso Border Sector this spring, walking into our homeland to reportedly end a little girl’s life just months after they arrived.
There was also a terrifying account from Hartford County, Maryland, where an illegal immigrant from El Salvador was just arrested after allegedly raping and slaying a mother of five children last year. The mother, Rachel Morin, had been exercising and never returned to her family.
The illegal immigrant entered the U.S. back in February 2023 and is believed to have invaded a Los Angeles home one month after his arrival. According to law enforcement, Morin’s death may not have been the first committed by this terrible man, who reportedly killed a woman in his home country about a month before his journey to the U.S.
There are many other examples of violent crimes committed around the country by illegal immigrants:
In January, an illegal immigrant from Colombia allegedly raped a minor in Massachusetts. This person had entered the country in July 2022.
In March, a Haitian man allegedly raped a child in Massachusetts. This person had entered the country in June 2023 through the Biden administration’s Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan Parole Program.
In April, an illegal immigrant from Mexico was arrested after allegedly committing a murder. This man had been deported from the U.S. at least seven times before his latest entry and crime.
In February, four illegal immigrants from Venezuela allegedly battered and robbed a man on a train in Chicago. A report indicated that three of them would be deported if convicted in a court of law.
In December 2023, an illegal immigrant from Brazil allegedly raped a child in Massachusetts. This person had entered the country in Arizona in 2021.
In November 2023, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic allegedly molested a child in Rhode Island. This man crossed the border as a “gotaway.”
These are just a smattering of the crimes committed against U.S. residents by migrants — many who entered the U.S. illegally and some who were admitted through reckless and unvetted immigration programs. These crimes aren’t going away. In fact, the number of these horrible offenses against innocent victims in our country only continues to grow.
Think of the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants Biden has allowed into the country. Now, consider the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who have escaped detection as “gotaways.” Anyone could be in our neighborhoods, plotting evil against a young person, a woman, or even a man. Or these illegal immigrants might just happen to run into an unsuspecting victim — as has happened many times, including in Laken Riley’s fatal situation. It only takes one person to commit a vile act of abuse or to end a life.
Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, Rachel Morin, and all others in the U.S. who have suffered violence at the hands of illegal immigrants have at least one thing in common: Their status as victims was 100% preventable. We will never be able to predict and stop all crimes in our communities, as hard as our law enforcement works to keep us safe. However, our government can, and should, secure our border and keep these monsters far away from innocent and unsuspecting families. Right now, it is deliberately choosing not to do so.
Biden has failed these men, women, boys, and girls — and he will continue to do so until he is no longer in the White House.
My heart breaks for all the families who have suffered such loss and anguish in these crimes at the hands of illegal immigrants. I pray that our leaders in the executive branch realize what they have done to our nation and reverse the policies that have led to all these tragic circumstances.
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Debbie Lesko is a representative from Arizona and serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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