Latest news with #Nungaray
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers debate bills to curb illegal immigration
Under President Donald Trump's renewed administration, Texas has emerged as a key frontline in the push for aggressive immigration enforcement and widespread deportations. Texas residents – regardless of immigration status – feel the ripple effects in the economy, schools, healthcare systems, courts and public safety services. To better understand these challenges, KXAN spent the first 100 days of Trump's second term producing 'Undocumented,' a comprehensive project diving into the real-life consequences of related policies and proposals. AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Inside a climate-controlled storage unit just outside Houston is an almost identical layout of Jocelyn Nungaray's childhood room. Her mom, Alexis, points out all the small details she took into account when recreating her daughter's room, including how she hung the movie and video game posters that adorned her wall. 'Some of them are crooked because she had them crooked, but she thought they were straight and she thought they were fine,' Nungaray said with a smile. Nungaray visits this room weekly. She says it's good to be surrounded by the memories of her daughter and her belongings, some of which still carry her scent. 'It just makes me feel like she's still alive,' Nungaray said. Jocelyn was killed last June. Houston police say they found her body in shallow water underneath a bridge within walking distance of her home. Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Pena, two Venezuelan nationals, are charged with sexual assault and murder. Her death shocked the local community, but its impact was far-reaching. Kim Ogg, the Harris County District Attorney, announced in December she is seeking the death penalty against the accused. Federal immigration authorities say the two men were in the country illegally at the time of the murder. Jocelyn's story gained traction across the country in the midst of a presidential election as Republicans ridiculed President Joe Biden's border policies. It's also inspired bills working their way through the Texas legislature. 'She said it, whether she was famous or not, 'everyone's going to know my name. I promise you, everyone's going to know my name,'' Nungaray said. Since her daughter's death, she said she has devoted her life to advocating for Jocelyn. Three months after Joceyln died, Alexis traveled to Washington D.C. to provide testimony in front of the House Committee on the Judiciary. In her testimony, Nungaray said the Biden-Harris administration's border policies were responsible for Jocelyn's death. 'The program the two illegal immigrants were enrolled in failed my daughter, Jocelyn. I'm here to use my voice and raise awareness of how broken our country has become with our open border policies,' Nungaray said in her testimony. 'As a U.S citizen, it shouldn't be a privilege to have safety in this country. It should be a requirement.' Her advocacy effort has garnered support from Gov. Greg Abbott, who highlighted Jocelyn at his State of the State address in February. He became emotional talking about Jocelyn, saying, 'Justice for Jocelyn demands action. I demand legislation.' At the state level, Nungaray is advocating for SJR 1, a constitutional amendment that would deny bail to any person in the country illegally who is arrested and charged with a felony. It is called Jocelyn's Law. 'I truly believe if they didn't want to be held with no bail, no bond, they should not have committed such heinous crimes in the first place,' Nungaray said. It is part of a larger push for bail reform at the State Capitol this session. Nungaray provided testimony to the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice. The bill gained bipartisan support in the Texas Senate, passing out of the higher chamber in a 28-2 vote. 'No family should have to go through what Jocelyn's family and others have endured,' wrote Senators Carol Alvarado, D-Houston; Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio; and José Menéndez, D-San Antonio. 'SJR 1, which seeks to address serious public safety issues stemming from judges who are not following current state laws on bail, is a first step to ensuring dangerous offenders are not released.' However, while that group of Democratic senators supported the bill, they said they still have concerns, issuing a statement into the Senate journal following the vote to express them. The senators said they believed the way SJR 1 was written at the time will be found unconstitutional, violating the 5th and 14th amendments. The group also hopes to change the language so it narrows the focus to violent types of crime. 'As drafted, the current language applies to ALL state jail, first, second and third degree felony offenses, making it more difficult for judges to prioritize cases involving violent offenses,' the group wrote. The senators also worry about how broad the language is concerning the definition of 'illegal alien.' As it is written, Jocelyn's Law defines an illegal alien as anyone who entered the United States without inspection, or anyone who entered the country as a nonimmigrant and failed to maintain that status before they are accused of a crime. A nonimmigrant can be any foreign person allowed to enter the country for a certain amount of time and for a certain purpose, such as a student visa. The senators argue the language should be refined to 'ensure that those who may have initially entered the country without authorization but have since gone through the appropriate legal processes to gain lawful status are not impacted by this legislation.' Their final concern deals with the Laken Riley Act, which the United States Congress passed earlier this year. It requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain anyone in the country who is unauthorized and accused of committing a crime like burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting. 'We must make sure that we are not shifting the cost of detention from the federal government to local taxpayers since counties are responsible for housing defendants pre-trial,' the group of senators argued. Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch is an immigration attorney and has been following SJR 1. She is concerned that local criminal courts will have to make decisions on someone's immigration status, a job she feels is better adjudicated in a federal court. 'Those are two independent systems and they should be independent because immigration is complicated and it's federal law,' Lincoln-Goldfinch said. 'I've represented people who've been accused of being terrorists just because they have tattoos. I've seen firsthand the way detention can be politicized. I, personally, do not trust the fact that that would not happen at the state level.' After Trump immigration order, ICE 'force multiplier' agreements with Texas police surge Critics of measures that factor citizenship into the criminal justice system point to studies that show undocumented immigrants have a lower arrest rate than U.S. citizens. A study from the National Institute of Justice – the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice – analyzed data from the Texas Department of Public Safety and found 'undocumented immigrants are arrested at less than half the rate of native-born U.S. citizens for violent and drug crimes' in the state. Jocelyn's law would need to garner 100 votes to pass out of the Texas House since it is a constitutional amendment. In late April, Gov. Greg Abbott made multiple appearances across the state to advocate for the measure. 'Judges in Texas, they have to decide,' Abbott said to a coalition of sheriffs who operate on or near the U.S. border. 'Will they enforce the laws to protect the citizens they serve? Or make it easy on the criminals who kill them? I think the answer is clear. I think if sheriffs get behind us across Texas, it'll be an easy one to get across the finish line this session.' The next day in Houston, Abbott acknowledged the political reality behind the proposed amendment. 'I'll' be honest with you – straight forward, there are 88 Republicans in the Texas House who I know will support this proposal, and to get it passed, [it] would need 12 Democrats in the Texas House to agree to this,' he said. 'So it's just a matter of gaining the support of 12 Democrats.' However, getting the votes in the Texas House is not the last step. Texas voters would have to make the final decision at the ballot in November. Over the past four years, the state of Texas has spent more than $11 billion to, as Republican lawmakers say, curb illegal immigration as well as stop human trafficking and the flow of drugs coming up through the southern border. President Trump promised to close the border and has even sent US troops down to the southern border. The number of encounters at the southern border have gone down: enforcement encounters were 11,017 this past March, a drastic drop from a year ago when encounters were 189,359 in March 2024. How South Texas border communities have changed after Trump immigration policies enacted But even with the drop in numbers, this year's state budget shows another $6 billion allocated for Operation Lone Star, Abbott's mission to respond to the southern border that started during the Biden Administration. Lawmakers also introduced bills this session to require more companies to use E-Verify when hiring. E-Verify is a federal system to help employers verify an applicant is eligible to work in the United States. Under current law, only state agencies, higher education and sexually oriented businesses are required to use E-Verify services. Senate Bill 324, authored by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, would require both public and private employers to use the E-Verify system. The bill passed mostly down party lines 19-12, with state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, being the lone 'no' Republican vote. Employing undocumented workers in Texas is illegal, but rarely enforced The bill does have a companion bill in the House but that has not yet been given a hearing date in the State Affairs committee. Texas is in the process of building its own state-funded border wall. The Texas Facilities Commission is responsible for carrying out the initiative. In April, the TFC reported it has completed 61.8 miles of border wall construction. The initiative has $2.5 billion of funding and the TFC director, Mike Novak, said the agency is ready to build about 85 miles of wall by summer 2026. The state has faced issues approaching landowners to lease parts of their land for the construction, according to the Texas Tribune. A few bills in the legislature look to help the TFC acquire more easement agreements. House Bill 247, by state Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, would give a property owner a tax break if they allow state or federal border barriers to be built on their property. Guillen said installing border security infrastructure on private land could create an unfair burden on landowners because it would increase their property value. It passed out of committee with a majority of support, 11-1. Another proposal, SB 316 by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, would allow the TFC to use eminent domain to acquire land for the construction of the border wall. That bill has been referred to the committee on Border Security, but has not been scheduled for a hearing. True to what she told her mother, Jocelyn's name is becoming well-known. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge in honor of her memory and because she loved wildlife. Texas senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn filed legislation in the U.S. Capitol to codify the President's executive order. It would permanently change the name of the refuge about an hour east of Houston. But the connection of her name to Texas legislation has also brought some backlash. Alexis said her daughter's memorial, staged along the outer fencing of a skate park and right next to where her body was found, has been defaced. Nungaray, who is Latina, said she has faced criticism from the Latino community for her advocacy of the bill. She recalled a trip to Hobby Lobby where a store employee recognized her. Nungaray said the woman told her she was from Venezuela and apologized for what had happened to her daughter, but did say 'we're not all like that.' 'I'm just waiting': Texas immigrant among millions in years-long legal, administrative backlog Nungaray said the woman told her she is worried she could face deportation as President Donald Trump cracks down on the southern border and has promised to deport 'migrant criminals.' But Nungaray said she stands by her beliefs that anyone who entered the country illegally has already broken the law and does not deserve to be in the country. 'I would assume and think you would want to stay under the radar, to stay in a place you chose to come to. But when you put a target on your back by targeting innocent people and doing things with ill will intent, there's no excuse for that,' Nungaray said. If Joelyn's Law is to become actual law in Texas one day, it will be up to the voters of the state to make the ultimate decision. Polling has shown immigration and border security are a top priority for Texas voters. The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin conducted a poll this past April asking Texans an open-ended question: What do you think should be the legislature's top priority? It was a tie for first, with 15% of respondents saying immigration and border security and another 15% saying the economy and prices of goods. KXAN Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims and Digital Director Kate Winkle contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
EXCLUSIVE: Cornyn bringing bill to enshrine Trump EO renaming refuge after Jocelyn Nungaray into law
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is planning to introduce a bill that would enshrine into law President Donald Trump's executive order to rename a national park after a 12-year-old Houston girl allegedly killed by two illegal immigrants. The bill is being brought forward to make it more difficult for future administrations, Republican or Democrat, to change the name of Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. "Jocelyn Nungaray was taken from this world far too soon at the hands of brutal killers who were in the U.S. illegally due to President Biden's open-border policies, and her legacy deserves to live on forever," Cornyn told Fox News Digital. "I am proud to lead this legislation alongside [Republican Texas] Congressman [Brian] Babin to ensure President Trump's renaming of this sanctuary to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge is made permanent." During his joint address to Congress in March, Trump announced the renaming of the 39,000-acre sanctuary, formerly known as the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, along the Texas Gulf Coast. In April, officials held a renaming ceremony for the park. "One thing I have learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so much. She loved nature. Across Galveston Bay, from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you will find a magnificent national wildlife refuge, a pristine, peaceful, 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God's creatures on the edge of the Gulf of America," Trump said during his address. Cornyn's bill would codify the park's new name into law, making the process to change it more difficult. "Ms. Nungaray loved animals and, given the close proximity of her hometown of Houston, it is fitting that the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge be renamed in her honor," the bill's text states. Cornyn said he learned of Nungaray's love of nature while getting to know her family. Nungaray's killing, as well as others involving illegal immigrant suspects, became a flash point during the 2024 presidential election as Trump campaigned on a platform of deporting criminals in the U.S. illegally. Nungaray, who lived in Houston, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted before she was strangled to death and left dead under a bridge in June 2024 by Franklin Pena, 26, and Johan Martinez-Rangel, 22, Harris County prosecutors said. Both men, alleged members of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua who entered the United States illegally, face capital murder charges and the death penalty.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas wildlife refuge renamed for murdered 12-year-old, Jocelyn Nungaray, unveils signage: 'Her life mattered'
The Trump administration has renamed the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas after a Houston girl who, prosecutors said, was brutally killed last year by two Venezuelan illegal immigrants. The park, now known as the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge, hosted a renaming ceremony on Thursday. The 39,000-acre sanctuary along the Texas Gulf Coast in Anahuac serves as a home for migratory birds and wildlife managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Let this land speak her name. Let its quiet strength echo her spirit. And let it stand as a testament that her life mattered," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said during the ceremony attended by Nungaray's mother. "And that her story, however heartbreakingly brief, needs to be told and retold and never forgotten." Jocelyn Nungaray's Mother Reveals Horrific Timeline Of Daughter's Murder In Hearing On Open-border Crime During his joint address to Congress in March, President Donald Trump announced the renaming of the refuge to honor Nungaray, showing his signature on an executive order that changed the name of the park. "I had no idea that was going to happen. It was a really big shock and surprise," Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn's mother, told FOX 26 at the time. "I was stunned. I didn't really know how to react. It was very surreal, very bittersweet." Read On The Fox News App Trump Honors Lives Of Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray While Celebrating Strides On Securing Border During Thursday's ceremony, Burgum noted that Nungaray loved animals while offering his condolences to her mother, who did not speak. "May Jocelyn's family find peace in the tranquility of the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. It's a lasting tribute to a beautiful young soul taken from us too soon," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. Nungaray's death drew national attention amid criticism of the Biden administration over millions of illegal immigrants, some with violent criminal records and street gang ties, who entered the United States during his presidency. In December, prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for her accused killers, 22-year-old Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and 26-year-old Franklin Jose Peña Ramos. Both men kidnapped Nungaray and caused her death by applying pressure to her neck, authorities said. They also allegedly sexually assaulted her before leaving her body under a bridge. Search warrants later revealed the men were possibly members of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and entered the U.S. illegally before the article source: Texas wildlife refuge renamed for murdered 12-year-old, Jocelyn Nungaray, unveils signage: 'Her life mattered'
Fox News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Texas wildlife refuge renamed for murdered 12-year-old, Jocelyn Nungaray, unveils signage: 'Her life mattered'
The Trump administration has renamed the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas after a Houston girl who, prosecutors said, was brutally killed last year by two Venezuelan illegal immigrants. The park, now known as the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge, hosted a renaming ceremony on Thursday. The 39,000-acre sanctuary along the Texas Gulf Coast in Anahuac serves as a home for migratory birds and wildlife managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Let this land speak her name. Let its quiet strength echo her spirit. And let it stand as a testament that her life mattered," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said during the ceremony attended by Nungaray's mother. "And that her story, however heartbreakingly brief, needs to be told and retold and never forgotten." During his joint address to Congress in March, President Donald Trump announced the renaming of the refuge to honor Nungaray, showing his signature on an executive order that changed the name of the park. "I had no idea that was going to happen. It was a really big shock and surprise," Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn's mother, told FOX 26 at the time. "I was stunned. I didn't really know how to react. It was very surreal, very bittersweet." During Thursday's ceremony, Burgum noted that Nungaray loved animals while offering his condolences to her mother, who did not speak. "May Jocelyn's family find peace in the tranquility of the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. It's a lasting tribute to a beautiful young soul taken from us too soon," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. Nungaray's death drew national attention amid criticism of the Biden administration over millions of illegal immigrants, some with violent criminal records and street gang ties, who entered the United States during his presidency. In December, prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for her accused killers, 22-year-old Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and 26-year-old Franklin Jose Peña Ramos. Both men kidnapped Nungaray and caused her death by applying pressure to her neck, authorities said. They also allegedly sexually assaulted her before leaving her body under a bridge. Search warrants later revealed the men were possibly members of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and entered the U.S. illegally before the slaying.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘The people of Texas deserve this': Senate discusses bail reform proposals
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas lawmakers in the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice talked extensively on Wednesday morning about five proposed bail reforms. 'I truly believe that there are hundreds of people dead today that would not be dead if we had incorporated some of this legislation earlier on,' the author of the five bills, Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said. 'The people of Texas deserve this.' Here are the key takeaways from Wednesday's hearing and press conference. The committee's first action was to name Senate Joint Resolution 1, a proposed constitutional amendment to prevent undocumented defendants from posting bail for felony charges, to 'Jocelyn's Law.' Jocelyn Nungaray was a 12-year-old Houston girl who was allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed by a pair of Venezuelan men who entered the country illegally. Both men had been arrested by U.S. Border Patrol for entering the country illegally before Nungaray's death but were released and told to show up to court at a later date. 'These individuals had no business being here in the first place,' Jocelyn's mother Alexis Nungaray said during a press conference Wednesday morning. 'Anyone who comes here illegally and creates and does crime should not be allowed a bond. It's not right. It's very inhumane.' The bill is intended to pair up with the U.S. Government's Laken Riley Act, requiring officials to detain immigrants accused of theft, burglary or shoplifting. For Nungaray, she says having the bill named after her daughter is bittersweet. 'It reminds me that I'm really making change for her and I am really continuously being her voice,' Nungaray explained. Proposed Senate Bill 40 (SB 40) would prevent local municipalities from donating taxpayer funds to nonprofits that help defendants post bail they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford. While the bill applies to every municipality across the state, the bill's author Sen. Huffman, had a very specific example in mind. 'We heard some reports that Harris County is spending public funds to pay a nonprofit who's posted goal is paying a defendant's bail bond,' Huffman told the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice. 'My office has determined that since February of 2022, Harris County issued at least 311 payments for a total of nearly $2.1 million to the Bail Project.' The Harris County Auditor's website shows hundreds of invoices paid from the county to the Bail Project. However, the nonprofit says this bill is based on a misunderstanding. 'I want to make it very clear, the bail project has never accepted any public funds in Texas,' Policy Strategist Emma Stammen said. Instead, she claims those invoices are reimbursements to the nonprofit for bail they posted using private donations. 'What [Sen. Huffman] was citing from the auditing records is actually a reflection of reimbursements of our own funds coming back to us after our clients have returned to court and resolved their cases.' Senate Joint Resolution 5, another proposed constitutional amendment needing a public vote to adopt, would give judges discretion to not allow bond for people held under certain violent charges. 'There's nothing partisan about asking our judges to hold people accountable when they do horrible things,' Paul Castro said during Wednesday's presser. Castro's son David was killed in a road rage incident in 2021. 'But that was just the beginning of the horrors… The judge knew that he was a violent offender and tried to set a bail bond high enough that it would not be met — $350,000. Unfortunately because of a loophole in the system, he was able to get out barely a month after he was arrested.' Current law only gives judges the discretion to hold a defendant in custody for 60 days under no bail holds. SJR 5 would allow judges to hold those who are deemed threats to safety until their trial date. 'The fact that this person who was a known violent offender, was able to achieve a bond at all, and the fact that in order to stop it we would have had to have my 13-year-old son testify as to what happened that night in 60-day intervals for perhaps as long as four years… simply unacceptable,' Castro said. Proponents of SJR 5 emphasized a pattern of defendants on bail committing more violence. 'This week, we documented 162 cases of defendants who are on bond that are now charged with murder since 2021 in Harris County,' Andy Kahan, director of victim services for Crime Stoppers Houston, said. 'There is absolutely no downside in allowing judges discretion. It's not a mandate, and I'm sure most of the judges in this state would say we would love to have discretion in Jocelyn case. Everybody was outraged when a cash bond was given. How could that happen? It's capital murder. Well, guess what? The judge had no choice. He had to grant a cash bond. My best guess perhaps, if the judge had a choice, which is what the constitutional amendment would be, there would be no bond.' In opposition, Stammen called SJR 5 'a dangerous proposal that would undermine public safety and strip legally innocent Texans of their rights and freedoms.' 'Changes to the right to bail must ensure pretrial detention remains the exception, not the norm,' she continued in her written statement to the committee. 'SJR 5 would increase family and caregiver separation, employment loss, economic insecurity, housing instability, and worsen medical and behavioral health outcomes.' Four of the five bills in Huffman's bail reform package passed out of committee on Wednesday with unanimous support. Huffman said she wanted to leave SB 1047 pending in committee, which deals with enhancing the Public Safety Report System. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said these bills will likely pass out of the Senate next week, and he made a promise that he will play 'hardball' with the Texas House of Representatives to make sure these bills are passed this session. 'As far as I'm concerned, if these bills do not pass the House, I see no reason for us not to go to a special session, and another special session, and another special session,' Patrick said during a news conference when asked what 'hardball' would look like. The Lieutenant Governor said he hopes the bills will pass out of the Senate with full bipartisan support, but at least one Senate Democrat has already expressed reservations on SJR 5. State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, said these bills have the potential to place more people in the 'crosshairs of our criminal justice system,' and says she is preparing for debate next week. 'As lawmakers, we should defend that presumption strenuously. Right now these bills suggest a greater interest in undermining it for political purposes than upholding it in pursuit of solutions to truly keep Texans safe,' Eckhardt said in a news release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
