The House of Representatives voted to memorialize a young girl from Texas killed by illegal immigrants last year. The Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, now named the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge, will be permanent.
The bill, called the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge Act, passed in a 372-0 vote, with 59 representatives not voting. The legislation is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump.
Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), as well as Congressman Brian Babin (TX-36), introduced the bill earlier this year to “ensure that this renaming cannot be overturned by a future administration by codifying the refuge’s new name into law,” a news release explained at the time.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced the refuge’s renaming in April to fulfill President Trump’s executive order honoring the 12-year-old girl. “Jocelyn Nungaray was a young girl with a future full of promise, a light whose presence touched those around her,” Burgum said in a statement, going on to declare that Nungaray’s life was “taken far too soon by illegal immigrants who should never have been in our country.”
“And since taking office, President Trump has kept his promise to take bold and measurable steps to secure our border and protect American communities,” he said.
Upon signing his executive order on the matter, President Trump detailed the horrors Nungaray faced. “She was kidnapped, tied up, assaulted for two hours under a bridge, and horrifically murdered. Arrested and charged with this heinous crime are two illegal alien monsters from Venezuela, released into America by the last administration through their ridiculous open border,” Trump said during his address to Congress. “The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly.” Addressing the young girl’s mother, Trump said, “Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter, your magnificent daughter.”
“Jocelyn was a precious 12 year old girl beloved by her family and friends for her kindness and infectious zeal for life. She loved animals and had a passion for ensuring that they had homes,” Trump’s order says. “It is fitting and in the national interest, therefore, that the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, a scenic area for coastal wildlife and recreation along the Gulf of America near Jocelyn’s home in Texas, will forever honor and preserve the memory of a beautiful American, Jocelyn Nungaray.”
