Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was incorrect in blaming Laken Riley's murder on one individual and not the Biden administration's failure to stop the southern border migrant crisis, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr told Newsmax on Monday.
Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan citizen who unlawfully crossed into the U.S. in 2022, was charged with murdering Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, on the University of Georgia campus.
Mayorkas told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that "one individual is responsible for the murder, and that is the murderer."
"I disagree with him wholeheartedly," Carr said on "National Report." "I have joined a number of my Republican AG colleagues. We've had to sue the Biden administration because they have a situation where violent criminals have made it through the system, they need to be deported, they're ready to be deported, and the Biden administration is picking and choosing who they're deporting. We had to sue based on the 'Remain in Mexico' policy."
After saying he was "just getting tired of the left playing word games," Carr added to his criticism of Mayorkas and the Biden administration's failure to police the southern border.
"Now you've got the secretary playing word games about whether or not somebody who's here illegally should have been deported," Carr said. "We got to end 'catch and release.' This is also what happened is this individual got caught, [was] released into the country, and he ended up in Athens, Georgia.
"Enough of the words. Get to work. Secure the border. Pass a bill that makes sense that starts with protecting the American people. And let's stop talking about these tragedies on national television."
Carr said he and other state GOP attorneys general will continue to try to protect their constituents.
"The paramount duty of the federal government is to defend this nation, and immigration is part of that," Carr said. "And if they don't do it, and if they fail to do it, then it comes to us at the states, and yes, we will keep the people of Georgia safe. My other colleagues will as well.
"But there is no doubt, if you are not going to have a secure border, gang activity goes up. Human trafficking goes up. Fentanyl is coming across the border. This is the responsibility of the federal government to do."
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said Ibarra was detained by the Border Patrol on Sept. 8, 2022, after entering from Mexico near El Paso, Texas. He was released for further processing, according to ICE. It's unclear if Ibarra applied for asylum.
According to ICE, Ibarra was arrested by New York police on Aug. 31 and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. Ibarra was released before ICE could ask New York officials to hold him until immigration authorities could take him into custody, ICE said. New York officials said they had no record of the arrest.
"The federal immigration system failed Laken. New York City failed Laken. The soft-on-crime policies in Athens and Clark County failed Laken. Every step of the way, to me, it feels like it was a failed system," Carr said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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