As reported by Fox News, 26-year-old Ibarra, who is facing charges for Riley's murder on the University of Georgia campus, had illegally crossed into the U.S. near El Paso in September 2022 and was subsequently paroled into the country.
ICE, in a statement to Fox News Digital, verified that Ibarra was encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on September 8, 2022, after his illegal entry near El Paso and was "paroled and released for further processing."
The agency also confirmed that Ibarra was arrested by the New York Police Department on September 14, 2023, on charges of "acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation."
Typically, when ICE identifies a potentially removable illegal immigrant arrested on criminal charges, the agency lodges a detainer – a request for local law enforcement to retain the suspect in custody until they can be transferred to ICE for deportation proceedings. However, in Ibarra's case, he was released before a detainer could be issued. It is worth noting that New York City is a "sanctuary city," which generally limits law enforcement's compliance with ICE detainers.
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ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Atlanta "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," according to the agency's statement.
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Ibarra's wife, Layling Franco, 23, also from Venezuela, told the New York Post that she and their 5-year-old son were in the El Paso facility for five days before journeying to New York.
"We got married so we could join our asylum cases," she said to the Post. "He was the person I thought I could see through. We’ve known each other our entire lives."
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Franco described Ibarra as a calm individual who left New York in search of better job opportunities in Georgia. "He wasn’t aggressive, none of that," she said. "We had problems as a couple, but our problems weren’t physical. We wouldn’t punch, but we’d raise our voices."
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She expressed her shock at the news of the crime and her desire to speak with Ibarra. "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," she said.
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Riley, an Augusta University nursing student who had previously attended UGA, was found dead last Thursday. She was enrolled in a nursing program at Augusta's Athens campus, where she had made the dean's list.
Ibarra, who appeared in court on Saturday morning, has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another. Clarke County Magistrate Judge Donarell Green denied his bond "for today."
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Diego Ibarra, Jose's brother, was charged on Friday with possessing a fraudulent green card and is currently in state custody. The federal arrest affidavit for Diego Ibarra reveals that he was charged with drunken driving and driving without a license in September 2023, and was later arrested for shoplifting. He subsequently failed to appear in court.
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