NBC’s Ainsley on Riley Death: Sanctuary Policies Existed Pre-Biden, ‘Lot’ of Venezuelan Migrant Surge Is Conditions There

On Monday’s edition of NBC’s “Morning News Now,” NBC News Homeland Security Correspondent Julia Ainsley responded to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and others blaming the death of Laken Riley on President Joe Biden’s policies by stating that “these same policies of releasing someone pending a court trial” and sanctuary city policies have existed before and that while it’s true that the suspect, Jose Ibarra, is Venezuelan and “the number of Venezuelans has skyrocketed” “under the Biden administration,” but “That, of course, has a lot to do with what’s going on in Venezuela, a lot of people fleeing that country, and, most recently, Venezuela stopped allowing the U.S. and Mexico to deport their nationals back to Venezuela.”

Ainsley said, “It’s no surprise that we would start to see a lot of this unfortunate death become played out in politics, especially because immigration is such a hot-button issue going into the 2024 presidential campaign. Kemp was first among them to say that this man should not have been in the United States and it’s because of the border policies. We do have to point out, though, that these same policies of releasing someone pending a court trial and of these cities not cooperating with feds go back at least through the last three administrations.”

She continued, “But it is true, he’s Venezuelan, and under the Biden administration, the number of Venezuelans has skyrocketed. They’re now usually the top one or two nationalities crossing the border every month. That, of course, has a lot to do with what’s going on in Venezuela, a lot of people fleeing that country, and, most recently, Venezuela stopped allowing the U.S. and Mexico to deport their nationals back to Venezuela. That was something they just agreed to last fall, they’ve closed the door again, intensifying this whole conversation.”

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