Venezuelan nationals Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, are charged with murder in the death of the 12-year-old girl.
HOUSTON — The brutal murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nangaray has drawn national attention and highlighted the politics of illegal immigration at the southern border.
Suspects Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, have been charged with murder in her death. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the pair “illegally entered the United States at an unknown date and place without being inspected, paroled or admissible by U.S. immigration officials.”
Peña and Martinez-Rangel were seen on surveillance cameras with Jocelyn on the morning of Monday, June 17, before her body was discovered in a creek north of Houston.
Her brutal murder has now become a political hot topic, with Trump speaking about it at a conference in Washington, DC, on Saturday.
“12-year-old Jocelyn was found strangled to death by two people who recently crossed the border illegally. They were brutally murdered. These monsters should not have been in our country. If I were President, they would not have been here. We have strong borders and we have protections,” Trump said.
A White House spokesman also commented on Jocelyn’s murder, offering condolences to her family and calling for those responsible to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
On Sunday, a post from Harris County Constable Mark Herman addressing Jocelyn’s murder went viral.
“Immigrant crime has entered our communities with great force,” Officer Herman said in the post.
The Houston chapter of LULAC, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights group, condemned Herman’s comments.
“It is very unfortunate that some people are trying to exploit this horrific and heinous crime for political purposes,” said the chapter’s president, Dr. Sergio Lira.
Herman added, “Our deputies are having increased contact with immigrants in our communities and they are among us. We have no idea who these people are, we know nothing about them.”
“He says there have been many more encounters with migrants. What does that mean?” FIEL Secretary-General Cesar Espinoza responded.
When asked, Herman told KHOU 11 News he doesn’t have official data to support “increased contact with migrants.”
The local chapter of LULAC said Herman’s posts were intended to incite fear and criminalize all immigrants.
“I know what the anti-immigrant, anti-migrant rhetoric has caused in El Paso,” Lira said, “and the immigrants here commit less crime than U.S. citizens.”
A Stanford University study found that from the 1960s to the present, immigrants are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born people.
A 2019 Cato Institute study in Texas found that undocumented immigrants are 37.1% less likely to be convicted of a crime.
“It’s not good and it’s not right to generalize an entire community because of the mistakes of a few people,” Espinoza said.
Local Latino groups say the focus should be on supporting Jocelyn and her family, not using them to score political points.
“Evil does not discriminate, whether you are a U.S. citizen, an illegal immigrant or a refugee seeking asylum,” Lilla said.
KHOU 11 News reached out to Herman for an interview, but he declined the opportunity.
Ramos and Martinez-Rangel are in immigration custody at the Harris County Jail.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced at a memorial on Friday that Houston businessman Jim McIngvale would cover the family’s funeral expenses.
A funeral service will be held at Earthman’s Rest Haven, I-45, on June 27th at 1pm. Burial will follow the service.
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