Mike Johnson SLAMS Alejandro Mayorkas for refusal to admit Laken Riley’s alleged killer should have been deported

His comments drew backlash from many on the right, including Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who pointed out that if the federal government had done its job properly, Riley would "still be alive today."

"When asked about the tragic murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant, Secretary Mayorkas visibly checked his talking points on how to deflect blame," Johnson wrote in a post on X. "Her killer should NOT have been allowed to enter the country and if the Administration had stopped him and turned him around as they should have, Laken Riley would be alive today."

During the interview, Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Mayorkas about "migrant crime" in general, but zeroed in on Riley's case.

"[Ibarra] had been detained by Border Patrol upon crossing, released with temporary permission to stay in the country," she reminded him, adding that the the illegal immigrant "then went on allegedly to commit crimes twice, once in New York for driving a scooter without a license, and once in connection with a shoplifting case in Georgia."

"Did those states and their law enforcement communicate to the federal government that this had happened?" she asked. "Should this man have been deported?"

After checking his notes, Mayorkas offered his sympathies to Riley's family, calling her murder a "tragedy," before launching into his response.

"One individual is responsible for the murder," he said, "and that is the murderer."

The DHS Sec then refused to admit that the federal government was at least in part to blame for the fact that Ibarra was allowed to not only enter the country illegally, but remain even after committing the aforementioned crimes. He instead suggested the fault lies with sanctuary states and cities for not doing enough to communicate with immigration officials the danger Ibarra posed to the community.

Ibarra was arrested shortly after the Augusta University nursing student's body was discovered near a lake on February 22. He has been charged with felonies of malice murder, murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and concealing the death of another, as well as a misdemeanor charge of physically hindering a 911 call.