The White House and Biden The campaign responded Friday to the death of a 12-year-old girl in Houston after two suspects accused of murder turned out to be undocumented immigrants.
Jocelyn Nungaray was discovered Monday in a shallow creek after being strangled, according to Houston police.
A White House spokesperson said: “Our thoughts go out to the family and loved ones of Jocelyn Nungaray.”
“We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases,” the spokesperson continued. “But fundamentally, anyone found guilty of these types of heinous and shocking crimes must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Pena, 26, have been arrested and charged with murder. The suspects crossed the border illegally this year and were released into the U.S. by border patrol, according to immigration authorities.
The two men had an immigration violation charge against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their lawsuits.
The White House response comes at a time when immigration and border security have become a top issue for voters heading into the November elections. An April NBC News poll found that 22% of registered voters said immigration and the situation at the border were the most important issue facing the country.
Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden administration’s border policies for Nungaray’s death. On Thursday, he said on Truth Social that “we have another Biden Migrant Killing – it’s only going to get worse, and it’s all Crooked Joe Biden’s fault.”
The Biden campaign hit back, pointing to Trump’s role in scuttling a bipartisan border deal in Congress.
“Donald Trump is making Americans less safe by blocking the border deal,” Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement.
An NBC News review of city data from June shows that overall crime rates are declining in the major cities that have received the most migrants from Texas, including Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C.
Nungaray’s death is the latest suspected migrant killing to spark political firestorms, even as studies have shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens.
The man accused of killing Laken Riley, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was previously arrested after crossing the US border
Trump has invoked Riley’s death in his pursuit of the White House, and Biden called Ibarra “illegal” during his State of the Union address, a term he later said he regretted.
Trump has also highlighted the case of Ruby Garcia, who was allegedly murdered by an undocumented immigrant. He said at a campaign event in April that he had spoken to Garcia’s family, a claim Garcia’s sister denied.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
