Republicans put the White House on blast Friday for a pair of statements on the deaths of Rachel Morin and Jocelyn Nungaray that did not acknowledge that both were allegedly killed by illegal immigrants.
The statements, issued days apart this week, offered “condolences” to the victims’ families, but declined to comment on active law enforcement investigations. In each case, the White House said anyone found guilty of crimes “should be held accountable, to the fullest extent of the law.”
Earlier this month, authorities arrested 23-year-old Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, a native of El Salvador who entered the U.S. illegally and is accused of being behind the murder of Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five who was found brutally raped and murdered near a Maryland hiking trail in August.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Rachel Morin,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases. But fundamentally, we believe that people should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty.”
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In Houston, the body of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was found Monday in a creek. Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, both Venezuelan migrants, are accused of strangling the girl to death, according to the Houston Police Department.
A White House spokesperson told NBC News Friday, “Our hearts 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 this type of heinous and shocking crime should be held accountable, to the fullest extent of the law.”
Republicans lambasted the statements, issued days after each case made headlines, and criticized the Biden administration’s border policies.
“Crooked Joe Biden is a disgrace,” the Trump campaign said Friday on social media. “The brutal murders of these Americans is on the hands of Biden — and the evil Biden migrants he released into our country.”
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“Shameful,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. “Innocent people murdered by illegal immigrants and the @WhiteHouse still REFUSES to accept responsibility.”
“Pathetic,” wrote Kim George, a GOP candidate for Congress in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. “Weak leadership is to blame for these senseless deaths. Nothing can be said to change what happened, but the families deserve better. They deserve #justice.”
The deaths of Morin and Nungaray, and the alleged murder of Georgia college student Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant before them, has fueled GOP attacks on Biden’s immigration policies. The White House and Biden campaign, in turn, have accused Republicans of undermining border security after a bipartisan immigration bill failed in the Senate thanks to GOP opposition. Former President Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, reportedly encouraged his allies in the Senate to tank the deal.
“Donald Trump is making Americans less safe by blocking the border deal,” the Biden campaign told Fox News Digital in a statement.
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However, the GOP-controlled House Committee on Homeland Security on Friday released an analysis that pointed to several Biden border policies they claim allowed these tragedies to happen.
The committee called out the White House and Department of Homeland Security for reversing many of Trump’s policies, including reinstating catch-and-release and ending the requirement for asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their claims to be processed. It also claimed the administration has not requested the necessary funds to increase detention space or use the existing space authorized by Congress.
As for the bipartisan Senate deal, House Republicans claimed it would still have permitted the suspected Venezuelan nationals to commit their alleged crimes by permitting them to enter the country if they were among the first 5,000 people encountered on any given day before a week of encounters recorded at that level.
“My heart aches for these women and their families and loved ones. These tragedies could have been avoided if the Biden administration would simply enforce the laws they swore to uphold. It’s truly that simple,” said Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn.
“Americans no longer feel safe in their own communities and neighborhoods. It does not have to be this way. Our Committee will continue to do everything possible to ensure justice for these victims, and accountability for the public officials ultimately responsible for these tragedies.”
Under fire for his handling of the situation at the border in recent months, the president has announced multiple executive actions aimed at reforming America’s immigration system.
The most recent action, which was announced Tuesday and offers a pathway to legal status for some half a million undocumented spouses and family members of U.S. citizens, has been panned by critics who argue it will further incentivize illegal crossings.
“The president may think our homeland security is some kind of game that he can try to use for political points, but Americans know this amnesty plan will only incentivize more illegal immigration and endanger Americans,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after Biden’s announcement.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee, Louis Casiano, Bill Melugin and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.
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