Laken Riley’s Mother: The Murder Was an ‘Avoidable Tragedy’

The Georgia murder of aspiring nurse Laken Riley was a “senseless and avoidable tragedy,” her mother wrote in a March 3 Facebook post.

The mother, Allyson Phillips, also posted a heart-shaped image with the words “Laken Riley: Say Her Name.”

Aside from those two political references, Phillip’s Facebook message about her daughter’s murder by an illegal migrant emphasized Christian themes of God’s love:

As I sat down to write this message, I really just have no words. My family has faced the most devastating, unimaginable loss that anyone could ever be force to endure. I would like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for being with me and my family during this heartbreaking time.

So far, the only official White House mention of Laken Riley came on February 28, when Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “I do want to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Laken Hope Riley.  Given this is an active [legal] case, I’m going to be really careful about speaking to that case more specifically.”

Riley was killed in Georgia while studying to become a nurse.

She was allegedly murdered by one of more than six million impossible-to-vet migrants — Jose Antonio Ibarra — whom Biden’s deputies have welcomed into the United States, regardless of the inevitable and huge damage to ordinary Americans.

For example, President Joe Biden’s impeached, pro-migrant border chief, Alejandro Mayorkas, refused to mention her name when he was asked about his agency’s role in the murder.

“Should this man have been deported?” host Margaret Brennan asked on the Sunday, March 3 broadcast of “Face The Nation.”

Mayorkas did not apologize for his role in the murder of Riley and many murder victims — or the deaths of thousands of migrants. Instead, he suggested Riley’s murder was caused by other Democrats:

First, Margaret, first and foremost, an absolute tragedy, and our hearts break for and our prayers are with the family, number one.
Number two, and, importantly, as a prosecutor, having prosecuted violent crime and other crimes for 12 years, [only] one individual is responsible for the murder, and that is the murderer …

We firmly believe that, if a city is aware of an individual who poses a threat to public safety, then we would request that they provide us with that information so that we can ensure that that individual is detained if the facts so warrant.

The comments point the blame at New York Democrats for not asking Mayorkas to deport Ibarra after he was reportedly caught in New York while riding a scooter with a child on the rear seat.

But as he responded to Brennan, Mayorkas knew that New York City had been refusing to help enforce national immigration laws long before he approved the “parole + ATD” policy that released Ibarra into the United States.

Mayorkas also knew about his 2021 instructions to minimize deportations of migrants who have not been found guilty of major crimes. Carrying a child on a scooter’s backseat is not considered by Mayorkas to be a major crime.

Mayorkas also knew that a 2023 court decision had declared his “parole+ ATD” policy was illegal, and the Department of Justice did not appeal the case.

Brennan, like most establishment journalists, knows little about Mayorkas’ complex immigration policies.

Her employer, moreover, does not employ journalists who are skeptical about Mayorkas’ policy. For example, CBS’ primary immigration reporter is an immigrant from Colombia. who posts stories very favorable to Mayorkas.

On Fox News, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the son of Cuban migrants, offered a ready-for-TV explanation of Biden’s dangerous policy:

There are criminals in every country in the world … Some of those people have now made their way into the United States. What do we think they do once they get here? Do you think they become stockbrokers? Do we think they’re going to run some charity organization? No, they do here what they did in Peru, what they did in Colombia, what they did in Venezuela before that …

But this is what happens when you allow 7.2 million people to march into the country and invade the way they have. Some percentage of them are going to be criminals. And guess what criminals do? They commit crimes. And that’s what’s happening in America.

Mayorkas, however, is a Cuba-born, pro-migrant zealot who places the wishes of migrants above the rights of Americans.

In 2021, Mayorkas described how a 2010 visit to a migrant camp in Kenya spurred his ambition to help distant migrants instead of fellow Americans:

And I returned to the States asking a lot of fundamental questions, certainly about whether we could define ourselves as a civilized world or not, but also asking questions about myself … and the question of identity became much more profoundly important to me as an individual, as a son, as a brother, and as a father, and husband. But it also became very important to me, as a leader of an organization.

And the issue of identity became the central question when we were wrestling with policy issues. When we consider a particular policy question before us, doesn’t the answer help define our identity? Who we are, and more importantly, who we want to be?

In contrast to Mayorkas and his fellow progressives, most Americans feel a greater moral duty to whom they are closest, beginning with their close circle of families, relatives, and friends, then spreading out to their fellow state residents, then their fellow Americans, and then — much weaker — to familiar foreigners and unfamiliar distant peoples.

Riley’s mother is a Christian, and she wrote:

As I sat down to write this message, I really just have no words. My family has faced the most devastating, unimaginable loss that anyone could ever be force to endure. I would like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for being with me and my family during this heartbreaking time. I encourage everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I give Him all the glory for getting us through this.

It would be really easy to lose our faith in mankind because of this senseless and avoidable tragedy. The amount of love, support and help that we have received during this horrific nightmare is overwhelming. I can’t begin to tell you all how much we appreciate all of the text, calls, flowers, meals, groceries, bows, pictures, personal gifts, memorials, gift cards and donations to Laken’s foundation. We are beyond grateful for everyone who has stepped up to be here for us through this difficult time. The outpouring of love has been so enormous – that I felt this was the best way to thank you all in a timely manner.

In a subsequent March 3 message, Phillips urged parents to help their children become faithful Christians:

To all the parents out there, I want to lay this on your heart. I can assure you that there is no greater gift that you can give your children than to walk along side them and help them develop their relationship with Jesus. It is the most important relationship they will ever have.

I know my sweet Laken knew Jesus personally and she will live eternally in His home. He never left her side until the very last second she was here on earth and He will take care of her now and forever in heaven. I find peace during this devastation in knowing that.

If there is anything I can do to assist you or your family in developing your relationship with Jesus, please reach out to me. There is no way to honor my precious Laken more than to give your life to Jesus. I love you all and I pray we all feel God’s peace that goes beyond our understanding and healing as we move forward.