The murder of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant has sparked outrage in Athens, Georgia. But instead of addressing the public’s concerns about safety in the city, Mayor Kelly Girtz used a news briefing to push his own political agenda.
As protesters gathered to demand action from the city, Girtz attempted to dismiss the idea of a sanctuary city. But as he spoke, angry residents interrupted him, shouting that he had “blood on his hands” for allowing illegal immigrants to roam freely in the city.
Despite denying that Athens is a sanctuary city, Girtz himself signed a resolution in 2019 welcoming “people from all lands and backgrounds” – including illegal immigrants – to the city. And while he blamed former President Trump for creating a divisive atmosphere, it’s clear that Girtz’s lenient policies have allowed dangerous criminals to enter and thrive in the community.
“While 2019 was not that long ago, you might remember the dynamic we were living in, in the late teens in this country where you had the president of the United States speaking in the most vile terms about people who were foreign born,” he said. “And you had that notion metastasizing in places like Charlottesville,” the Mayor said.
JUST IN: Mayor of Athens, Georgia Kelly Girtz says the death of Laken Riley is “not connected” to illegal immigration and points the finger at Trump for being ‘mean’ to illegals.
Your country is controlled by m*rons.
Riley was killed by an illegal immigrant but Girtz is… pic.twitter.com/IrZRvPEnLs
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 28, 2024
In fact, it was reported that Ibarra’s brother, Diego Ibarra, who was also an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, had numerous run-ins with the law before his brother attacked Riley. And when police questioned him, he even had the audacity to hand them a fake green card with mismatched birth dates.
But that’s not the only troubling detail that has emerged in the case. It was revealed that Riley had attempted to call 911 for help during the attack, only to have the call obstructed by Ibarra. This was one of the charges filed against him on Friday, but the police have refused to release the 911 call, further fueling the anger of the protesters who demand transparency.
While Girtz touts the downward trend of murders in the county, the fact remains that Athens still ranks in the middle of the pack for other similarly-sized college towns. And with a growing population, the city must take stronger measures to ensure the safety of its citizens, especially in light of this horrific murder.
Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz said there’s no correlation between illegal immigration and crime, but that’s because sanctuary cities don’t report illegal alien crime to the FBI and most of the time, migrants are labelled as white. You want to know the data that connects illegal… pic.twitter.com/MDt4Y5JHs6
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) February 29, 2024
But instead of taking responsibility for the safety of his constituents, Girtz chose to blame Trump and deflect from the real issue at hand – illegal immigration. It seems the Mayor is more concerned with promoting his political agenda than actually addressing the concerns of the people he was elected to serve.
In the end, the tragic murder of Laken Riley serves as a grim reminder of the consequences of lenient immigration policies. Unfortunately, it seems that Mayor Kelly Girtz is more interested in playing politics than protecting the people of Athens.
