Murder of 12-year-old in Houston at center of Trump-Biden immigration debate | Texas

(The Center Square) – The murder of a 12-year-old girl in Houston by two Venezuelan men who entered the country illegally and were released by Border Patrol agents made national and international news, the White House and the Former President Donald Trump speaking before Thursday night’s first presidential debate.

In an update on the case Thursday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, a Democrat, said According to NBC News, the perpetrators of these attacks “should never have been released” in the country. Instead of having them deported, federal agents gave them electronic bracelets, which Ogg said gives “the public a false sense of security.”

On June 17, Jocelyn Nungaray’s body was found in a bayou under a bridge north of Houston. The cause of death was strangulation, but her body was found bound and unclothed from the waist down. Forensic evidence has yet to confirm whether she was sexually assaulted, Ogg said last week. An aggressive, multi-agency investigation led law enforcement to locate and arrest her alleged killers three days later — 22-year-old and 26-year-old Venezuelans who were in the country illegally.

They both “illegally entered the United States without inspection, parole or admission by a U.S. immigration officer at an unknown date and at an unknown location,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.

Both were apprehended by Border Patrol agents near El Paso; one in March, the other in May. Both were released the same day they were apprehended, on bond orders accompanied by a “summons” to appear before an immigration judge at a later date, according to ICE.

They are currently in pretrial detention and are being held at the Harris County Jail on $10 million bond each.

As the investigation continues, Ogg said the Venezuelan government is “not cooperating with the U.S. government at this time,” declining to provide information about their backgrounds or criminal history. Because they entered the country illegally, they are a flight risk, she said.

“The biggest problem is our immigration system, the border that has been broken for decades,” she continued. “What’s different is we’re seeing people from other countries” entering the country illegally in recent years under the Biden administration, she said. They come not only from Mexico but “from China, the islands, South America, like these individuals. It’s new. And I think that increases the risk factor for ordinary people here.

She also discussed the Biden administration’s “catch and release” policy, first implemented by the Obama administration and discontinued by Trump. Instead of processing inadmissible illegal aliens for deportation, Border Patrol agents were ordered to release them into the United States with “summons” papers to appear before an immigration judge in a later date, The Center Square reported.

They are also given electronic bracelets and cell phones so federal agents can track and locate them. But authorities have found that phones are being thrown away and electronic bracelets cut off, as was the case in Houston.

“These two men were both detained by ICE and they had electronic bracelets,” Ogg said. “One of them cut it. Electronic bracelets give the public a false sense of security. We don’t trust them as prosecutors because we see too many problems with people who are supposed to be under surveillance and yet aren’t. And that’s the case with these two men. »

“They should never have been released when they crossed the border in El Paso. But our system is failing and this led to Jocelyn’s death. And it’s really hard when, you know, something could have been avoided. Like the death of a child. They’re still horrible. But this one in particular was so brutal, this little girl endured it. What? No, no one should have to endure.

In response to Jocelyn’s killing, Trump said on Truth Social: “We have another Biden killing of migrants – it’s only going to get worse, and it’s all the fault of crooked Joe Biden.” It’s a disgrace to the office of the president, it’s a disgrace to America. I look forward to seeing him at the mock debate on Thursday. Let him explain why he allowed MILLIONS of people to enter our country illegally! »

In response, Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said, “Donald Trump is making Americans less safe by blocking the border deal.” The administration blamed Trump for the failure of a Senate border bill that Senate Democrats voted against even bringing to a hearing, The Center Square reported.

The alleged Venezuelan perpetrators are among millions of people who entered the country illegally and who, under the law, are not allowed there, but who have been apprehended by Border Patrol agents and released into the country, or who have gained entry through new parole programs, all created by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.