The killing of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray: Trump’s latest weapon against migrants

The death of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl whose body was found in shallow water on June 17 in Houston, allegedly murdered by two undocumented immigrants, is the new pretext for Donald Trump and his campaign to attack illegal crossings on the southern border. It is also the perfect new excuse to accuse President Joe Biden of being chiefly responsible for the immigration situation. “We have a new Biden Migrant Killing — It’s only going to get worse, and it’s all Crooked Joe Biden’s fault,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social network, about a case that has shocked the Latino community. “These monsters should never have been in our country and if I were president, they would not have been in our country.”

With just five months to go to the November presidential election, border policy is one of the main battlegrounds for the two candidates. “I look forward to seeing him at the Fake debate on Thursday. Let him explain why he has allowed MILLIONS of people to come into our Country illegally!!” Trump wrote, alluding to the first presidential debate between the Republican and Democratic candidates that is scheduled for Thursday.

Trump, who is obsessed with his own anti-immigration rhetoric, has taken advantage of the killing to influence an issue that inflames his supporters. In a speech in Philadelphia last Saturday, Trump once again brought to light the Nungaray case in order to criminalize immigrants. “They crossed our border claiming they feared for their lives in Venezuela, but you know, crime in Venezuela has gone down… because they have brought all the criminals here,” he said. And he also recalled, in front of the crowd, the case of a 25-year-old Ecuadorian man accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in Queens, New York. Trump promised, as he has done before, “to begin the largest deportation operation in the history of the United States” if he is elected president and, as usual, accused the migrants entering the country of being drug smugglers, gang members and murderers.

Story of a crime

Johan José Martínez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Peña, 26, both of Venezuelan nationality, were arrested as the main suspects in Nungaray’s death. A statement released on Friday by the United States Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that both entered the country illegally. Martínez-Rangel was detained by Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas, on March 14. Peña, for his part, was arrested by the Border Patrol on May 28, also near El Paso. Both were released on orders of recognizance with notices to appear in court at a later date.

Around 6.15 a.m. local time on June 17, Houston police received a phone call reporting the discovery of a body lying in a city drainage ditch on West Rankin Road, near the minor’s home. Kim Ogg, the district attorney of Harris County (Texas), said at a news conference that the victim was bound, without clothing from the waist down, in the water. Harris County Forensic Science Services classified the death as strangulation.

Alexis Nungaray, the girl’s mother, told television station KPRC 2 that she had seen her daughter off to bed. Houston police say the victim snuck out of the house between 10:00 p.m. and midnight, allegedly to go see her boyfriend. The police department announced that, according to security cameras, the alleged killers were seen on Sunday, June 16, leaving a restaurant. They later saw Nungaray and the three of them walked together to a 7-Eleven convenience store. The men then took her under a bridge where, according to authorities, they tied her up, took off her pants, strangled her and threw her body into the water. Authorities are still investigating whether the girl was also sexually abused, although Ogg said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday that “a sexual assault likely happened.”

The mayor of Houston, John Whitmire, acknowledged that it was a very serious case and that he would be alert to the decisions of the courts: “Now, we want the justice system to do its job. If there was ever a circumstance where you do not give someone bail, this is it.” On Monday, Peña appeared in a Harris County court and his bail was set at $10 million. The judge set bail in the same amount for Rangel-Martinez on Tuesday. Ogg assured that they will seek the death penalty for the two men.

Migration and crime, an ideological issue

In a Pew Research Center report at the beginning of the year on the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border, it was reported that 85% of Republicans link the arrival of immigrants with crime, while only 31% of Democrats establish this relationship. Even though the numbers show that undocumented immigrants are not responsible for the majority of crimes committed in the country, hate speech and fearmongering serve as a strategy for Republicans to attract the attention of voters.

A spokesperson for the Biden Administration sent condolences to Jocelyn’s family last Friday and assured them that they would be waiting for the perpetrators to pay for their crime.

Migration and border security have become one of the key issues in the campaign ahead of the presidential election, in which the Latino vote will be decisive. For these voters, border security is among their top five concerns, according to a recent survey conducted by the organization Voto Latino. Another recent UnidosUS poll revealed that eight out of 10 Latino voters consider that immigration policy will affect their vote on November 5, and almost half believe it will be fundamental in their decision.

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