The White House and Biden campaign responded Friday to the death of a 12-year-old girl in Houston after two suspects charged with capital murder were found to be undocumented migrants.
Jocelyn Nungaray was discovered Monday in a shallow creek after being strangled to death, according to the Houston Police Department.
A White House spokesperson said “our hearts are with Jocelyn Nungaray’s family and loved ones.”
“We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases,” the spokesperson continued. “But fundamentally, anyone found guilty of this type of heinous and shocking crime must be held accountable, to the fullest extent of the law.”
Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Pena, 26, were arrested and charged with her murder. The suspects crossed the border illegally this year and were released into the U.S. by Border Patrol, according to immigration authorities.
Both men had immigration violation records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement on their court records.
The White House’s response comes as immigration and border security become a major issue for voters preparing for 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 a new Biden migrant killing — it’s only going to get worse and it’s all Crooked Joe Biden’s fault.”
Biden’s campaign fired back, pointing to Trump’s role in the failure of a bipartisan border agreement in Congress.
“Donald Trump is making Americans less safe by blocking the border agreement,” Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said in a statement.
An NBC News analysis of city data from June shows that overall crime levels are falling in major cities that received the most Texas migrants, including Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.
Nungaray’s death is the latest suspected murder by migrants, which has led to political storms even as studies have shown that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens.
The man accused of Laken Riley’s murder, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was previously arrested after crossing the border into the U.S.
Trump invoked Riley’s death in his campaign for the White House, and Biden referred to Ibarra as “illegal” during his State of the Union address, a term he later said he regretted using.
Trump also highlighted the case of Ruby Garcia, who was allegedly murdered by an undocumented immigrant. He said during a campaign event in April that he spoke with Garcia’s family, a claim Garcia’s sister denied.
Antonio Planas It is Jillian Frankel contributed.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
