Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted to social media that the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to him that Laken Riley’s alleged murderer was paroled into the U.S. illegally because the Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas, was capped.
Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, has been charged in the murder of Riley. The 22-year-old Augusta University nursing school student was killed Feb. 22, while jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed with Fox News Digital previously that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered Ibarra Sept. 8, 2022, and he was “paroled and released for further processing.”
Now, Graham has found out more about Ibarra’s release.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital seeking additional information about the claim.
ICE previously stated Ibarra had been arrested by the New York Police Department a year after being paroled, on Sept. 14, 2023, and was “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.” The agency later corrected the record saying he was arrested Aug 31, 2023.
