(NewsNation) — Alexis Nungaray, mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, says it’s been a relief to see President Donald Trump’s deportation flights begin.
“This should have happened years ago,” Nungaray told NewsNation’s Blake Burman. “These guys that took Jocelyn’s life should have been on a flight just like that.”
Nungaray’s 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was sexually assaulted and killed in Houston last June. Two Venezuelan men who were in the country illegally have been charged with capital murder for her death.
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Nungaray was at the White House on Wednesday as Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, calling the moment “surreal” and “bittersweet.”
“It’s a tragedy that we have to be here in the first place,” Nungaray said. “But it’s so remarkable that we get to be here in honor of making change.”
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The Laken Riley Act — named after a slain Georgia nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan man in the country illegally — gives federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes.
Nungaray said she’s honoring her daughter’s legacy by pushing for better border security: “Anyone who has any sort of record doesn’t belong here.”
The Laken Riley Act received bipartisan support — a point U.S. Senator Ted Budd, R-N.C., emphasized in a conversation with NewsNation on Wednesday.
“Americans want our country safe, and they want us prosperous, and today was about safety,” Budd told Elizabeth Vargas.
