The Venezuelan national accused in the death of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley entered the country illegally in 2022 and was previously held in New York City, according to information provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday.

According to earlier reports from Fox News, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra was granted parole after entering the country illegally in September 2022 in El Paso. Ibarra is accused of killing Riley on the campus of the University of Georgia.

He had been stopped by CBP, or Customs and Border Protection, on September 8, 2022, after arriving close to El Paso, according to an ICE statement to Fox News Digital. He was then paroled and freed for further screening.

A year later, on September 14, 2023, Immigration and Customs Enforcement verified that Ibarra had been taken into custody by the New York Police Department and “charged with engaging in an attempt to injure someone who is less than 17 and an auto license breach.”

In the event that ICE becomes aware of the arrest of an individual it regards as a removable illegal immigrant and charges them criminally, it will typically file a detainer, which is a request to local law enforcement to hold the suspect in control until they can be sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and placed under deportation hearings.

In this instance, however, Ibarra was freed prior to the issuance of a detainer, according to ICE’s statement. Additionally, NYC is a “sanctuary city,” meaning that law enforcement is typically not allowed to comply with ICE detainers.

ICE Statment

The statement released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated that Ibarra was contacted by its Investigation and Removal Services office in Atlanta after he was taken into custody by the University of Georgia police force and accused with various offenses, including murder. Atlanta’s ERO filed a detainer.

Ibarra’s wife, Layling Franco, 23, of Venezuela, informed the New York Post that she and her 5-year-old kid spent five days in the El Paso facility prior to traveling to New York.

She told the Post, “We wed so we could begin our immigration cases.” I felt like I could look right through him. We want to spent our entire lives together.

Ibarra was a composed individual, according to Franco, who is not charged with any crimes in connection with the case. Ibarra departed New York in order to pursue a better employment opportunity in Georgia.

She told the publication, He wasn’t hostile at all. As a relationship, we had issues, but they weren’t physical. We would raise our voices, but we wouldn’t punch.

She stated to the Post that she had been seeing stories about the crime “everywhere.”

She said, “I want to speak to [Jose].” I firmly believe that there was a confusion and that it wasn’t him. However, if he did, he genuinely has to pay the price that he did.

Riley, a student studying nursing at Augusta University in Athens, was discovered dead on Thursday. Riley had attended UGA before enrolling in the school’s nursing program, where she was named to the dean’s list.

Authorities announced on Friday that Ibarra had been charged with felony murder, malicious murder, serious assault, aggravated battery, false detention, kidnapping, obstructing a 911 call, and hiding the death of someone else.

Ibarra showed up for court on Saturday morning, and Donarell Green, the magistrate for Clarke County, denied him bail “for today.” There were two interpreters on hand. Upon being talked to, Ibarra nodded.

Diego, Ibarra’s brother, was accused of having a fake green card on Friday and is currently detained by the state. Diego Ibarra’s federal arrest complaint states that he was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving without a license by the Athens-Clarke District Police in September 2023. He later avoided court after being taken into custody for shoplifting.

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