The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced on March 7 that Diego Ibarra, brother of Jose Ibarra, who is alleged to have killed Augusta University student Laken Riley, will remain in custody while he faces federal charges for using a forged green card to gain employment at the University of Georgia.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia states that Ibarra faces federal charges for possessing a fraudulent green card and could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison if convicted. The investigation involves collaboration between Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Athens-Clarke County Police Department, University of Georgia Police Department, and Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.
News Nation reports that border patrol agents are experiencing difficulty in the identification process as migrants continue to use fake documents or no documents at all. Customs and Border Protection processes individuals without identification based on the information provided by the migrants themselves. Diego Ibarra's brother, Jose, was recently arrested for allegedly killing Riley, a former nursing student at the University of Georgia. Jose Ibarra gave authorities an invalid Venezuelan ID number when first arrested. "The problem, though, is that we’re basically taking people’s word for it — that they are who they say they are, they’re from whatever country they’re from when they say they don’t have any criminal history," said Jon Anfinsen, vice president of the Border Patrol Council. "Hopefully, they’re telling the truth. But we have no real way of knowing that."
According to Business Daily, illegal immigrants are using fake documents such as drivers licenses and social security cards once they are released into the U.S. Cartels produce these fake documents while smuggling illegal aliens into the country. This poses a challenge for U.S. businesses who risk legal repercussions for knowingly employing an underage undocumented worker who might have used a fake ID. "Fake identification is widespread," former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Ammon Blair told Business Daily. Over 967,000 employers use E-Verify, an internet-based tool comparing employee information to records at Homeland Security and Social Security. E-Verify has failed to identify nearly 12 million illegal hires since 2006.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service website states that companies are required to accept documentation that "reasonably appears to be genuine" or face penalties for discrimination.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia covers 70 counties out of Georgia's 159. This district includes military installations such as Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Ft. Moore in Columbus, and the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany. Peter D. Leary is the U.S. attorney of the district while Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison is prosecuting the Diego Ibarra case.
