Three Venezuelan illegal immigrants connected to the Laken Riley case are set to be deported.
Diego Jose Ibarra, the brother of Riley’s killer Jose Antonio Ibarra, will be placed in ICE custody alongside Argenis Ibarra and the brothers’ roommate Rosbeli Flores-Bello.
Ibarra was sentenced to serve a total of 48 months in prison after he admitted to possessing a fraudulent Green Card in 2024. Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello also admitted to having a fraudulent document.
According to the Justice Department, all three defendants will be deported.
“On April 30, 2023, Diego Ibarra illegally entered the United States, along with four other Venezuelan men, by crossing the border near the Ysleta station in El Paso, Texas. The men fled when approached by the United States Border Patrol (USBP) agents,” the DOJ explained. “Diego Ibarra resisted an agent’s efforts to detain him and grabbed the agent’s service radio, threw it into a nearby yard, and then attempted to bite the agent. Agents scuffled with him and another Venezuelan man for several minutes before the National Guard arrived and assisted in subduing both men.”
“Diego Ibarra was taken to a local hospital after complaining of chest pains and pain in his back and leg, which he indicated to FBI agents he sustained from scaling and falling from the border fence during his illegal crossing,” the release continues. “He admitted to illegally crossing the border, resisting arrest and attempting to avoid apprehension at any cost. He said his injuries were not from the fight with agents.”
Argenis Ibarra entered the country illegally on April 30, 2023, after being returned to Mexico earlier that month. Because an ICE processing center lacked space at that time, he was released on May 4, 2023.
Flores-Bello illegally entered the U.S. on May 3, 2023, and was released into the country on May 5 due to the lack of space.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” the DOJ said.
President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law in January, making it the first piece of legislation enacted during his second administration. The law mandates that ICE detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes or assaulting a police officer. It also grants states the ability to sue the DHS for harm caused by illegal immigration.
