Great Lakes Wire

Mike Rogers recently discussed the case of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student, on social media platform X. Riley was allegedly murdered by an undocumented immigrant in February. Rogers is currently a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.

"Laken Riley's tragic death was preventable," said Rogers, Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan, according to X.

Screenshot of post on X | https://twitter.com/MikeRogersForMI/status/1765865799464415392

Riley was enrolled at the University of Georgia-Atlanta as a nursing student before she transferred to August University, according to AP News. On February 20, she went for a run on the UGA campus where she was purportedly attacked and killed. The suspect in this case is Jose Antonio Ibarra, an undocumented migrant who crossed into El Paso in 2022. Immigration officials say that Ibarra was detained for illegal crossing but was later released into the country's interior. He was subsequently arrested in New York but released again. Following his release, he moved to Georgia.

Fox News reports that Allyson Phillips, Riley's mother, posted on Facebook describing her daughter's murder as an "avoidable tragedy." The alleged murderer, Jose Ibarra, resided in an apartment complex with his brother Diego who also entered the country illegally from Venezuela. Diego Ibarra has recently been charged with using a fraudulent green card to briefly work at the University of Georgia.

According to Ballotpedia, Rogers previously served as a U.S. Representative from Michigan's 8th Congressional District and also held office in the Michigan state Senate. He is now running as a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan.