EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will use his Republican National Convention speech to push for stronger border control and fewer migrant releases in the wake of the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Texas last month – as he highlighted a number of deaths allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants.
"Tomorrow I will be speaking for Jocelyn. And I will be speaking for Lincoln Riley. And I will be speaking for Rachel Morin and all the others whose lives had been needlessly stolen by illegal immigrants released by Joe Biden and the Democrats," he told Fox News Digital in an interview.
Two illegal immigrants, Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, face capital murder charges in the death of 12-year-old Nungaray in Houston. They are accused of luring her under a bridge, tying her up and killing her before throwing her body into a river.
MEXICAN MAN CHARGED WITH KILLING TWO CHILDREN IN WISCONSIN IS IN US ILLEGALLY
Officials confirmed they were in the country illegally. Martinez was apprehended by Border Patrol in March and Pena was apprehended in May. Both were released on an order of recognizance pending their immigration court hearings.
"Had Joe Biden and the Democrats followed the law, put them on a plane and sent them home, Jocelyn Nungaray would still be alive," Cruz said. "Jocelyn was a beautiful 12-year-old girl, she loved animals, she dreamed of being an actress."
"This is happening over and over and over again, every damn day. We see another story of a person killed, a child raped, of a woman assaulted by illegal immigrants released by [President] Joe Biden and the Democrats," he said, calling Nungaray’s death "entirely preventable."
Cruz, along with Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, has introduced the Justice for Jocelyn Act. That bill would require that every Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention bed be filled before any releases of illegal immigrants into the interior. Even if they are filled, the bill would require DHS to exhaust all additional measures before releasing migrants into the interior.
The legislation has the backing of Nungaray's mother, Alexis.
"In the wake of so much grief, Jocelyn gives me the strength to be her voice and demand justice. Sen. Ted Cruz's Justice for Jocelyn Act would have prevented Jocelyn's death," she said. "It would have prevented her two murderers from being on the street, and it would have meant that Jocelyn would be here with us today. For the safety of kids nationwide, I urge everyone to support Sen. Cruz’s Justice for Jocelyn Act."
Cruz says the effects of the border crisis and what he said are "open border policies" on American communities will be a centerpiece of his speech to the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.
"I'm going to make the case that this is cruel, this is evil, this is wrong. Real people are hurting and suffering and dying, and this needs to stop, and it will stop, and the way it will stop is when Donald Trump is re-elected president.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
In the interview, he also addressed the attempted assassination of former President Trump, joining calls for an emergency hearing and the resignation of top officials.
"Every one of those decisions was indefensible. And the consequence was utterly catastrophic," he said.
He praised Trump’s response to the incident as "remarkable and inspiring" and blamed rhetoric from the left for inspiring such actions.
"I think Saturday's attempted assassination was a direct consequence of years after years after years of hateful vitriol and angry rhetoric and calls to violence from elected Democrats, from the corporate media," he said. "When they spend a decade calling Donald Trump Adolf Hitler and the devil and a threat to American democracy, tragically angry and disturbed people take that as a call to action."
