Former President Donald Trump recently highlighted the tragic stories of Angel Families during his speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC. He emphasized their suffering and loss, allegedly at the hands of illegal aliens under President Joe Biden’s administration. The event brought attention to the issue of unvetted and potentially dangerous individuals entering the United States.
In one case mentioned by Trump, 22-year-old Laken Riley from Athens, Georgia was allegedly murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela. Ibarra crossed the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas on September 8, 2022, with more than 8,000 detention beds available for use by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the time of his apprehension. However, DHS cited a lack of “detention capacity” and granted him parole through Biden’s parole pipeline, releasing Ibarra into the United States interior.
Ibarra was arrested for acting in a manner that could injure a child on September 14, 2023, but no legal action was taken, and his arrest record was later expunged. In November 2023, he applied for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which was approved on December 9, 2023.
Another tragic case mentioned by Trump involves 37-year-old Rachel Morin from Bel Air, Maryland, who was allegedly raped and bludgeoned to death by Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, an illegal alien from El Salvador with ties to the MS-13 Gang. In 2023, on three occasions, Martinez Hernandez was apprehended by Border Patrol agents trying to cross the southern border after he allegedly murdered a woman in his native El Salvador. On his fourth attempt to get into the U.S., Martinez Hernandez was successful, becoming one of approximately two million “got-aways” who have crossed the border undetected by Border Patrol since Biden took office.
The most recent case highlighted by Trump is that of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray from Houston, Texas. She was lured to a bridge by two alleged murderers: 22-year-old Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and 26-year-old Franklin Pena, both of whom are illegal aliens apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas. Both men were released into the United States interior on orders of recognizance with a Notice to Appear (NTA) before a federal immigration judge.
Federal data shows that at the time DHS released each man into the U.S. interior, there was available detention space to hold them. The House Homeland Security Committee has found that this issue is not isolated, but rather a pattern of releasing individuals with potentially dangerous backgrounds into the United States without proper vetting and oversight.
Former President Trump’s speech at the RNC brought attention to these heartbreaking stories, highlighting the urgent need for better border security and immigration control measures to protect American citizens from harm caused by illegal aliens entering the country under Joe Biden’s administration.