Jason Riley, the father of Athens murder victim Laken Riley spoke to the Georgia Senate Wednesday, calling on state lawmakers to strengthen immigration laws and criticizing the Athens-Clarke County government for creating what he called a sanctuary city. It was four weeks ago today that the 22 year-old Augusta University nursing student was brutally beaten while running on the University of Georgia campus, killed allegedly by 26 year-old Jose Ibarra, in the country illegally from Venezuela.
From Fox News…
Laken Riley’s father spoke Wednesday before the Georgia state Senate to remember his daughter about a month after the Augusta University nursing student was murdered while jogging on the University of Georgia campus.
Riley, 22, was found dead in a wooded area on UGA’s campus on Feb. 22 after she did not return home from her morning run. Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national who was living illegally in the United States, has been charged in her murder, which police described as a “crime of opportunity.”
“I stand before you, a heartbroken man,” Riley’s father, Jason Riley, said before the state Senate on Wednesday afternoon. “Part of my purpose has been taken. God gave me a beautiful daughter to father, protect, provide for and nurture. A man with an evil heart stole her life. He was in this country and in this state illegally. My vision for every senator in this chamber is that you protect citizens from this illegal invasion.”
Jason Riley pleaded with state lawmakers to “recognize” that “over a million illegal aliens are in this state and making families nervous.”
“Please recognize Athens-Clarke as a sanctuary city, and this policy and the lack of action, led to the murder of my daughter,” he said. “There are a few of you in this chamber that are standing up and working on that solution to protect us. For that, my family is thankful.”
Encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border reached a new record of 2.3 million over the 2022 fiscal year. In 2023, that record was broken with 2.4 million encounters, according to Customs and Border Protection.
“Governor Kemp, please declare an invasion to detain and deport criminal illegals so we can prevent future families from those tragedies,” Jason Riley continued. “Hundreds of women and children each month… are being smuggled, coerced, and trafficked in our state. They are victims, just like Laken. I thank you for honoring Laken in this way, and I humbly ask you to do more to protect us. She and my family mean the world to me.”
The grieving father continued: “I’d like to also recognize Senator Colton Moore and Michael Gargiulo, who are great men fighting for freedom and security in our state. They were there for our family throughout this process. I thank them and each of you for this opportunity to hear from our family and to hear our cry for help so we can protect others as Laken would have wanted. God be with our state and each of you. Thank you.”
Jose Ibarra and his two brothers, who were also in the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived together in an apartment complex in Athens located about a five-minute walk from the approximate scene near Lake Herrick on UGA’s campus where Riley was killed.
Jose entered the United States through the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022 and was freed on border parole. He initially lived in New York City before moving to the Georgia college town.
He is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another.
Diego Ibarra was fired from a dishwashing job at UGA after presenting fake green card documents, the school previously told Fox News Digital. Argenis Ibarra, 24, is currently detained at an ICE facility in Georgia.
Fox News’ Madison Scarpino, Megan Myers and Adam Shaw contributed to this report