Republican lawmakers cited her case as they pursued legislation aimed at toughening Georgia's already strict immigration laws. In May, Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed a law requiring local law enforcement to check the immigration status of people in their custody and to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Mr. Ibarra was arrested by Border Patrol while entering the country illegally in 2022 near El Paso, Texas. He was released in the country on a temporary residence permit. He was arrested again, this time in New York, for riding a scooter without a license and with a child who wasn't wearing a helmet, officials said.
Last year he was arrested and released in Georgia in connection with a shoplifting case.
Ms. Riley, a nursing student, set out for a run just after 9 a.m. on Feb. 22, listening to music and moving quickly, according to the running watch she was wearing. At 9:11 a.m. she activated the emergency function on her iPhone. A 911 dispatcher answered the call, but the line was silent for nearly a minute.
That's when, according to a recording enhanced by investigators, a man was heard saying, “Yo tengo,” which means “I have” in Spanish. Someone hung up. The dispatcher called back but there was no answer. At 9:28 a.m. the watch could no longer detect Ms. Riley's heartbeat.
About two hours later, prosecutors said, her roommates realized something was wrong.
Two of them went looking for her on the running trails. About 15 minutes later, they found one of her earbuds on the trail. Twenty minutes later they called the police and reported her missing.
