US police say suspect in killing of student Mollie Tibbetts is an illegal immigrant. The case is a political firestorm
After the arrest of Mexican Cristhian Rivera, US President Donald Trump was quick to link the killing to immigration laws, calling them a ‘disgrace’
The arrest of a man who US authorities have said is an illegal immigrant on charges of murdering an Iowa college student has thrust the case into the debate on immigration policy, with US President Donald Trump blaming Mollie Tibbetts’ death on weak laws.
Cristhian Rivera, 24, was arrested and charged on Monday with the murder of 20-year-old Tibbetts, who disappeared in July while out jogging. A woman’s body has been found but has not yet been positively identified, authorities have said.
Law enforcement officials told reporters on Monday that Rivera was Mexican and in the country illegally. However, his defence lawyer said in a court filing on Wednesday that Rivera had legal status.
“Should never have happened,” said Trump. “The immigration laws are such a disgrace.”
The political fallout from the killing could reverberate across Iowa, a swing state that has a hotly contested gubernatorial race and where Democrats see a chance at taking two of the 23 seats they need to win back from Republicans in November’s midterms to gain a majority in the House of Representatives.
Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds echoed Trump’s approach, blaming Tibbetts’ death on the nation’s immigration laws.
“We are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community, and we will do all we can bring justice to Mollie’s killer,” she said in a Tuesday statement.
But Republican members of Congress and congressional candidates in closely competitive Iowa districts were more guarded, perhaps wary of voter backlash if they politicised the case.
“Yes, our immigration system is broken, and Congress has failed to fix it,” Peters wrote. “There is much we can and must do. For now, though, we should mourn the loss of Mollie.”
Tibbetts’ father, who made many public pleas for information about his daughter’s whereabouts, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. A man who picked up the phone at the home of Tibbetts’ mother in Iowa declined to comment.
Iowa voters might recoil at Tibbetts’ death being politicised so quickly, said Timothy Hagle, a political-science professor at the University of Iowa.
“Kate Steinle was used nationally by Republicans as an example of a system that needs fixing,” Hagle said. “That might happen again, but I’m not sure it will be handled the same way in Iowa.”
Several residents of Brooklyn, Iowa, where Tibbetts lived, expressed sadness at how quickly her death had become a political talking point.
“I wish Trump had not made this political,” said Janice, a 60-year-old waitress at the Classic Deli, who declined to give her last name. “The family just wants to heal. I have a farm with Mexican immigrants, and I never felt afraid.”