The illegal alien charged with kidnapping and murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley got into the United States thanks to President Joe Biden’s parole pipeline at the nation’s porous southern border.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, was arrested and charged this month with kidnapping and murdering Riley while she was out for a morning run around the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia.
Laken Riley (Photo via Facebook)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have since confirmed that Jose Antonio Ibarra is an illegal alien who first arrived at the United States-Mexico border in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas. Rather than being held in detention or immediately removed, he was released into the United States interior via Biden’s parole pipeline.
Biden’s parole pipeline is part of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s expansive Catch and Release network at the border where every day thousands of illegal aliens are apprehended and then promptly released into American towns and cities with the expectation to show up for an immigration hearing years down the road.
DHS officials have privately suggested that about 5,000 illegal aliens are released into the United States interior every day under Biden and Mayorkas. The DHS secretary, according to Border Patrol agents, has privately admitted that about 85 percent of all illegal aliens arriving at the border are released into American towns and cities.
Even after Ibarra was released into the United States interior, ICE officials confirmed he was arrested in August 2023 in New York City and charged with injuring a child under 17 years old as well as with a motor vehicle violation.
The city’s sanctuary policy, as well as New York state’s sanctuary law, ensured that Ibarra was freed from jail before ICE agents could request custody of him. It is almost certain that if he had been handed over to ICE agents, he never would have been in Athens months later.
As Breitbart News reported, Ibarra’s brother, 29-year-old illegal alien Diego Jose Ibarra from Venezuela, also crossed the border and had been living in Athens at the time of Riley’s murder. He used a fake green card to secure a dishwashing job at the University of Georgia for a brief period.
Diego Jose Ibarra (Clarke County Sheriff’s Office)
In September 2023, Diego Ibarra was arrested in Athens for drunk driving and driving without a license. He was arrested again in Athens in October 2023 for shoplifting and then in December 2023 for failing to appear in court.
NewsNation’s Ali Bradley reports that Diego Ibarra first crossed the border near Eagle Pass, Texas, on April 3, 2023, but returned to Mexico soon afterwards. He then crossed the border near El Paso on April 30, 2023, and allegedly was involved in assaulting a Border Patrol agent.
According to Bradley’s report, he was not prosecuted because he claimed to have epilepsy. Another Venezuelan illegal alien who arrived at the border with him was prosecuted for felony assault and is in federal prison in Texas.
After his arrival, Diego Ibarra was turned over to ICE agents and allowed to parole out of federal custody, ultimately ending up in Athens.
On February 22, Riley went for a morning jog along the University of Georgia’s campus in Athens, where she had transferred from in 2023. When she did not return, her roommate called the police who started a search for Riley.
Riley graduated from the University of Georgia and started nursing school at Augusta University’s Athens campus. Riley had been an avid runner since her time in high school when she ran cross country in Woodstock, Georgia.
Only hours after Riley left for her morning run, her body was found in a wooded area near Lake Herrick. Police said Riley’s body showed visible injuries. The following day, police arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra.
Jose Ibarra remains in Clarke County Jail, as does his brother. Jose Ibarra has been charged with kidnapping, murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of a person.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
