U.S.

Politics World Opinion Media Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Video AI More Login Watch TV

Illegal Immigrants

ICE confirms Georgia student murder suspect entered US

illegally, was previously arrested in NYC
Jose Ibarra arrested by NYPD in Sept 2023 for child endangerment but released before detainer issued
By Adam Shaw , Stepheny Price Fox News

Published February 25, 2024 3:54pm EST

Tom Homan on suspect in Georgia student’s murder: This would not have happened under Trump
Former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan argues the death of a Georgia student is a result of the Biden administration’s immigration policy failures.

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your
free account!

By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy , which
includes our Notice of Financial Incentive . To access the content, check your email and follow the
instructions provided.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday confirmed that the Venezuelan
national charged in connection with the murder of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student
Laken Riley entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and had previously been arrested in New York
City.

Fox News had previously reported that 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, charged with the
murder of Riley on the University of Georgia campus, had crossed into the U.S. illegally
near El Paso in September 2022 and was paroled into the U.S.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, ICE confirmed he had been encountered by Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 8, 2022, after entering near El Paso and was "paroled
and released for further processing."

ICE also confirmed that Ibarra had been arrested by the New York Police Department a
year later, on Sept. 14, 2023, and "charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less
than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation."

GEORGIA STUDENT MURDER SUSPECT CONFIRMED TO BE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

Jose Ibarra, who was originally taken into custody on Friday by the UGA Police Department in connection with Laken Riley's
death, is now not believed to have had a connection to the victim. (Clarke County Sheriffs Office)

When ICE learns that what it believes to be a removable illegal immigrant has been
arrested on criminal charges, the agency will normally lodge a detainer – a request asking
local law enforcement to keep the suspect in custody until they can be transferred to ICE
and put into deportation proceedings.

BROTHER OF UGA MURDER SUSPECT CHARGED WITH GREEN CARD FRAUD

Laken Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a lake on campus on Feb. 22, 2024.
(Allyson Phillips/Facebook)

In this case, however, ICE's statement says Ibarra was released before a detainer could be
issued. NYC is also a "sanctuary city," which generally restricts law enforcement from
complying with ICE detainers.

statement, ICE said that its Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Atlanta
In its
"encountered Ibarra pursuant to his arrest by the University of Georgia Police Department
and being charged with murder and other crimes. ERO Atlanta lodged a detainer."

LAKEN RILEY CASE: GEORGIA AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY MURDER SUSPECT IN CUSTODY

IN NURSING STUDENT'S SLAYING

Layling Franco walks outside a migrant shelter in Queens, New York City, on Feb. 24, 2024. Layling Franco is the wife of
Jose Antonio Ibarra, who was arrested in Georgia on suspicion of killing 22-year-old university student Laken Riley.
(Brigitte Stelzer)

Layling Franco, 23, of Venezuela, and the wife of Ibarra, told the New York Post that she
and her 5-year-old son were in the El Paso facility for five days before they made the
journey to New York.

"We got married so we could join our asylum cases," she told the Post. "He was the person
Ithought I could see through. We’ve known each other our entire lives."

Franco said Ibarra was a calm person and that he left New York because he wanted to get
a better job in Georgia.

"He wasn’t aggressive, none of that," she told the outlet. "We had problems as a couple, but
our problems weren’t physical. We wouldn’t punch, but we’d raise our voices."

She told the Post that she's seeing news of the crime "everywhere."

"Iwant to talk to [Jose]," she said. "I have a lot of faith that this wasn’t him, that there was a
misunderstanding somewhere. But if he did, he has to pay for what he did, truly."

LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT JOSE IBARRA LIVED WITHIN 5-MINUTE WALK OF UGA
CRIME SCENE

President Biden on Sunday responded to the Thursday murder of Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley on UGA's
campus. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/ Facebook/ Clarke County Sheriff)

Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was found dead Thursday after previously
attending UGA before entering a nursing program at Augusta's Athens campus, where she
made the dean's list.

Police have charged Ibarra with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery,
aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing
the death of another, authorities said on Friday .

Ibarra appeared in court on Saturday morning, when Clarke County Magistrate Judge
Donarell Green denied his bond "for today." Two translators were present. Ibarra nodded
when spoken to.

Ibarra’s brother, Diego, was charged Friday with possessing a fraudulent green card and is
being held in state custody. The federal arrest affidavit for Diego Ibarra says that in
September 2023, Athens-Clarke County Police charged him with drunken driving and
driving without a license. He was later arrested for shoplifting and later skipped court.

Fox News' Michael Ruiz, Bill Melugin and Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border
security.

He can be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter .

U.S. Politics World Opinion Media Entertainment

Crime Executive U.N. FOX Nation Coverage Celebrity News
Military Senate Conflicts Movies
Education House Terrorism TV News
Terror Judiciary Disasters Music News
Immigration Foreign Policy Global Economy Style News
Economy Polls Environment Entertainment Video
Personal Freedoms Elections Religion
Fox News Investigates Scandals
Digital Originals

Sports Lifestyle FOX Business Science & Tech Watch Live About
NFL Health Personal Finance Air & Space FOX News Shows Contact Us
College Football Food & Drink Economy Security Programming Schedule Careers
MLB Auto Markets Innovation On Air Personalities Fox Around the World
NBA Travel & Outdoors Watchlist Video Games Full Episodes Advertise With Us
NHL Real Estate Lifestyle Military Tech Show Clips Media Relations
Golf House & Home Real Estate Planet Earth News Clips Corporate Information
Tennis Fitness + Well-being Tech Wild Nature Compliance
Soccer Style & Beauty
UFC Family
WWE Faith

Apps & Products

FOX News Go
FOX Weather
FOX Nation
FOX News Shop
FOX News Radio
Outkick
Newsletters
Podcasts

New Terms of Use New Privacy Policy Your Privacy Choices Closed Caption Policy Help Contact Us Accessibility Statement

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or
delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Legal Statement . Mutual Fund and ETF
data provided by Refinitiv Lipper .