(NewsNation) — The father of a nursing student killed while jogging on the University of Georgia at Athens campus spoke before the state Senate, pleading with lawmakers to pass immigration laws.
Jason Riley spoke about his grief, calling Athens a sanctuary city and blaming the city’s policies for his daughter’s death.
The suspect in Laken Riley’s death is Jose Ibarra, an immigrant from Venezuela who crossed into the U.S. illegally. The killing has fueled an ongoing debate over immigration policies and enforcement.
Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz has previously pushed back against the designation, noting there is no official legal definition on what constitutes a sanctuary city and that state law prevents cities from adopting sanctuary policies.
Those who are calling the city a sanctuary city point to a 2019 resolution from the Athens-Clarke County council that declared the area “welcoming to people from all lands and backgrounds” and said the government of the county “denounces white supremacy” and was committed to reversing harms to minority communities.
While Jason Riley previously said he didn’t want his daughter’s death politicized, he also urged Gov. Brian Kemp to declare an “illegal invasion” and said families were nervous about “over a million illegal aliens” in the state of Georgia.
While there are roughly a million immigrants in Georgia, data shows only 342,000 of those are people who crossed into the U.S. illegally.