ICE says Georgia murder suspect's brother was previously arrested, but detainers were ignored

Posted 61 days ago

From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Thursday the brother of the suspect charged with the murder of Georgia student Laken Riley was arrested multiple times in Athens, Georgia, in 2023, but its requests to take him into custody were ignored.

Diego Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, was arrested last week and charged with green card fraud.

His younger brother, Jose, is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another in the homicide of Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student.

Jose Ibarra is accused of killing Riley while she was jogging along a popular pedestrian loop around Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia's campus in Athens Feb. 22. The two brothers from Venezuela were living in the United States illegally. ICE confirmed Jose's illegal status earlier this week.

In a statement Thursday, ICE said Diego Ibarra had first entered the U. S. April 3, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas, but was removed via the COVID-era Title 42 process. He reentered April 30 and was enrolled into "Alternatives to Detention," by which migrants are monitored via GPS tracking when released.

He was released May 12, 2023, but by May 25 was judged to have bolted from the program after abnormalities with his GPS tracking device. Enrollees can be tracked in a number of ways, including a bracelet or a cell phone app. Last year, the administration pushed for a reduction in ICE detention beds and more funding for ATD but is now pushing for more detention beds.

The ICE statement said he has several arrests in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, but that ICE detainers — requests that ICE be notified when an illegal immigrant is being released for a transfer to ICE custody — were not honored.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department told Fox News Digital it is not responsible for ICE notifications and does not have access to immigration status. It said that is instead handled by the Clarke County jail and directed Fox to the Clarke County Sheriff’s office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why the detainers were not honored.... (Read more)








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