Venezuelans in Georgia fear violent backlash after Laken Riley’s murder

Klinsmann Torres is a Venezuelan immigrant who currently lives and works in the Atlanta metropolitan area. He crossed the US-Mexico border illegally in August 2022, just weeks before his compatriot Jose Antonio Ibarra did the same, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

By the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On February 23, after being accused of kidnapping and murdering a University of Georgia nursing student, Ibarra became a national figure, out for a run. The victim, Laken Riley, was 22 years old. His death is believed to be the first homicide on campus in nearly 30 years.

Torres says that recent conversations with other Venezuelans living in Georgia have loomed large over Atenas’ killing (and have drawn attention to border politics). They worry that inflammatory rhetoric surrounding immigrants and immigration could reverse the gains they’ve made as low-income workers in the local economy.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty about what will happen in the short term,” Torres said. But “I don’t think this will end well for us.”

Immigration was already a major issue in the national discourse when Riley’s killing sparked a wave of mourning in Athens and beyond. Reports of a record number of illegal border crossings since 2021 have alarmed Republican leaders and led Democrats to adopt tougher enforcement bills. On Tuesday, new data from a Gallup poll found that Americans view immigration as the nation’s most important issue.

Tensions have risen since Riley’s death, allegedly at the hands of Ibarra. On social media, former President Donald J. Trump called the Venezuelan national a “monster” and blamed the Biden administration for an immigration “assault” that is “killing our citizens.” Fresh from sending more Georgia National Guard troops to the southern border, Gov. Brian Kemp also linked the bloodshed at UGA to federal immigration policy, calling the killings “inexcusable and avoidable.”

Read more at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution