President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved a work permit for Jose Antonio Ibarra of Venezuela, who is accused of murdering 22-year-old Laken Riley, even after discovering he had a prior criminal history, according to federal documents detailed by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
On February 22, Laken Riley went for a morning jog around the University of Georgia (UGA) campus in Athens, Georgia. Riley’s bludgeoned body was found later that day in a wooded area. The following day, Ibarra was arrested and charged with her murder.
During a Senate budget hearing on Thursday, Hawley read aloud the DHS file on Ibarra, which he said senators only recently obtained.
According to the documents that Hawley read, Ibarra was encountered at the United States-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on September 8, 2022. DHS officials cited “detention capacity,” according to Hawley, as the reason Ibarra was rewarded parole.
“You and I both know [lack of detention capacity] is not a valid reason [for parole] under the statute,” Hawley told DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. As Breitbart News previously reported, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data shows about 8,100 available detention beds at the time Ibarra was encountered at the border.
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Biden’s expansive Catch and Release network, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) noted, purports to give parole to migrants on a “case-by-case” basis for public benefit or humanitarian reasons. Paul asked Mayorkas if detention capacity is a reason migrants are given parole, but Mayorkas said he would not comment on the case.
“Why was [Ibarra] paroled?” Paul repeatedly asked Mayorkas.
On July 19, 2023, Hawley said the DHS file states that Ibarra reported to agency officials in New York City for a biometric appointment where he was fingerprinted. The results of those fingerprints, according to the document, show Ibarra had a prior criminal history.
On September 14, 2023, Ibarra was arrested for acting in a manner that could injure a child. Despite the charge, Ibarra was not prosecuted, and the arrest was expunged.
Two months later, in November 2023, the DHS file states that Ibarra applied for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On December 9, 2023, Hawley said the DHS file states that Ibarra’s work permit application was approved.
Less than three months after securing the work permit, Ibarra was charged with Riley’s murder.
“This is your policies in action,” Hawley told Mayorkas. “A criminal is permitted into this country on grounds flatly not permitted, flatly contradictory to the statute. He commits a crime against a child, and then he gets a work permit … then, in February, he commits the heinous crime against Laken Riley.”
