HOUSTON — The family of a 12-year-old Houston girl investigators say was murdered by two undocumented immigrants joined former President Donald Trump at the US-Mexico border in Arizona on Thursday.
Jocelyn Nungaray was found dead in a creek in north Houston on June 17. Police say two men, Johan Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Peña, strangled her before dumping her there. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, both men were in the country illegally. ICE also reported they had both been in the custody of border patrol, but later released.
Former President Trump says the case highlights what he calls the Democrats' "weak border security policy."
Jocelyn's mother, Alexis, spoke about the pain her family's still going through.
"I have to go through the rest of my life with my son always asking for his sister, and I just really, really, really want everybody to please take into consideration how important border control is," Alexis Nungaray said.
Trump and his Republican allies have been criticizing Democrats for spending more time talking about him this week at their convention rather than talking about border security.
The visit was the fourth in a series of events held in battleground states this week to try to draw the focus away from Democrats’ celebration of Harris’ presidential nomination in Chicago.
Joining Thursday’s border visit were the mothers of children who were killed during the Biden administration, including Alexis Nungaray. Speakers at the convention on Wednesday night accused Trump of using the border to stir up his base by demonizing immigrants.
As for the suspects, they're still in the Harris County Jail. The lawyer for one of the suspects is asking for a gag order in the case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report