Jason Riley, the father of Laken Riley, spoke to the Georgia State Senate on Wednesday during an event honoring her memory.
The Senate passed a resolution citing the accomplishment of the Augusta University nursing student before her untimely death last month, according to WAGA-TV in Atlanta.
Laken Riley was abducted and murdered on Feb. 22 while jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens.
José Antonio Ibarra, who is allegedly in the country illegally, was arrested and charged with her death.
The murder and Ibarra's arrest added fuel to the debate not only in the state of Georgia but throughout the nation about illegal immigration, the outlet reported.
Jason Riley said that his daughter's murder had left him "heartbroken."
"I stand before you, a heartbroken man," he said. "Part of my purpose has been taken. God gave me a beautiful daughter to father, protect, provide for, and nurture.
"A man with an evil heart stole her life," he added, apparently referring to Ibarra. "He was in this country and in this state illegally. My vision for every senator in this chamber is that you protect citizens from this illegal invasion."
Ibarra was arrested on Feb. 23, the day after Laken Riley's murder, and remains in Athens-Clarke County Jail, having been denied bail.
"Ibarra, who is originally from Venezuela, entered the country illegally in 2022 and was living in Athens," WAGA reported. "He was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another.
"An autopsy showed Riley died from blunt force trauma to the head," the outlet added.
You can see Jason Riley giving his complete statement to the state Senate below.
Sen Colton Moore stands with Laken Riley’s Father Jason who asked Governor Kemp to declare an illegal invasion after illegal migrant was charged with murdering his daughter pic.twitter.com/O9AIOO58SQ
— WhatmattersinGeorgia (@WhatmattersinG) March 21, 2024
Jason Riley blamed government policies for letting illegal immigrants into the country and then allowing them to stay, especially in Athens, which has designated itself a so-called "sanctuary city."
"Please recognize over a million illegal aliens are in this state and making families nervous," he said. "Please recognize Athens-Clarke is a sanctuary city. And this policy and the lack of action led to the murder of my daughter."
Riley said some Georgia state legislators were working on "a solution to protect us," and thanked them for it, but said more had to be done.
"Gov. Kemp, please declare an invasion to detain and deport criminal illegals so we can prevent future families from those tragedies," Riley said. "Hundreds of women and children each month that are being smuggled, coerced, and trafficked in our state. There are they are victims, just like Laken. I thank you for honoring Laken in this way, and I humbly ask you to do more to protect us."
WAGA noted that authorities have not said why Laken Riley was killed.
