Trump tries to blame Biden for Georgia student’s jogging murder

Suspect Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, is a Venezuelan citizen who entered the US unlawfully in 2022

Former president Donald Trump has blamed Joe Biden’s “border invasion” as contributing to the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

Riley, 22, was murdered after going for a run on the University of Georgia Intramural Fields earlier this month.

The murder suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was accused of “disfiguring her skull” and of dragging and hiding her body in a “secluded area.”

Mr Ibarra is not a US citizen, transforming the charges against him into a rallying cry for the right — including Mr Trump.

On Truth Social, the former president wrote, “Crooked Joe Biden’s Border INVASION is destroying our country and killing our citizens!” He wrote that Riley’s murder “should have NEVER happened” and described Ibarra as a “monster.”

He “illegally entered our Country in 2022…and then was released AGAIN by Radical Democrats in New York after injuring a CHILD!!” Mr Trump continued.

If elected president, the 2024 GOP frontrunner promised to “immediately Seal the Border, Stop the Invasion, and on Day One, we will begin the largest deportation operation of illegal CRIMINALS in American History!”

Jose Antonio Ibarra charged with murder of Laken Riley (Clarke County Sheriff’s Office)

The Independent has reached out to the White House for a response to Mr Trump’s accusation.

Speaking to Fox News, a White House spokesperson said, “We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Laken Hope Riley.”

“People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty. Given this is an active case, we would have to refer you to state law enforcement and ICE,” the spokesperson continued.

In a statement, ICE said that Mr Ibarra was a Venezuelan citizen who “unlawfully” entered the US in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, where he was “paroled and released for further processing.”

After his arrest on 23 February, ICE lodged a detainer on him.

his undated image provided by Augusta University shows Laken Hope Riley, a nursing student whose body was found on 22 February 2024, on the University of Georgia campus (Augusta University)

Aside from Mr Trump, a host of prominent Republicans have been trying to hold Mr Ibarra’s immigration status — and the president’s border policies — accountable for Riley’s death.

“Laken Riley’s tragic death struck the hearts of Georgians everywhere and has sparked national outrage,” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said in a post on X.

“Joe Biden’s failed policies have turned every state into a border state, and I’m demanding information from him so we can protect our people when the federal government won’t!”

After saying that Mr Ibarra illegally entered the country, Tennessee Sen Marsha Blackburn wrote: “The disastrous policies and negligence of the Biden administration is putting American lives at risk!”

Failed Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis also chimed in on ICE’s statement: “The combination of open borders and sanctuary and soft-on-crime policies is deadly. The illegal alien who murdered Laken Riley had recently been arrested in NY — and then released.”

“The brutal murderer who took the life of Laken was one of the millions of illegal aliens that the Biden Administration simply released and unleashed upon our country,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on X. “The brutal murderer who took the life of Laken was one of the millions of illegal aliens that the Biden Administration simply released and unleashed upon our country.”

Despite these claims pushing anti-immigration rhetoric, there is no evidence to suggest people who migrate to the US, including those who are undocumented, commit more crimes than those born in America, studies suggest.