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.