The Department of Homeland Security reportedly confirmed that the Venezuelan migrant accused of murdering Laken Riley was granted parole into the U.S. because there was no room to hold him at a Texas detention center.
The Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas, was reportedly at capacity, prompting the release of Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, who is allegedly responsible for the February murder of Riley, the 22-year-old Augusta University nursing school student.
The latest information was shared by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who posted the information on social media along with a video clip of his announcement at a Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.
“DHS just confirmed to me that the man charged with Laken Riley’s murder was paroled into the U.S. illegally, ‘due to detention capacity at the Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas,'” Graham wrote in the post.
DHS just confirmed to me that the man charged with Laken Riley’s murder was paroled into the U.S. illegally, “due to detention capacity at the Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas.”
He wasn’t granted parole because he provided a significant benefit to the country or that… pic.twitter.com/dvMOSmmGHO
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 16, 2024
The Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee noted that Ibarra “wasn’t paroled because he had a unique benefit to the country or that he had a humanitarian need, as the law requires. He was paroled because of capacity problems.”
“The Biden Administration is breaking the law at the expense of innocent Americans,” the senator added in his post.
Ibarra was “paroled and released for further processing” after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered him on Sept. 8, 2022, as confirmed to Fox News by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
One year later, the illegal migrant was arrested by the New York Police Department and “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation,” according to ICE which initially reported the arrest happened on on Sept. 14, 2023, but later corrected to say it was Aug 31, 2023.
“There is no effective detention when it comes to illegal immigrants coming to our border… The ‘catch and release’ program is one of the greatest pull factors,” Graham said in his opening remarks to the Committee Tuesday. “The price of this policy by the Biden Administration is pretty darn high.”
