Sen. Cruz Leads Press Conference on Justice for Jocelyn Act
HOUSTON, Texas – Today, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) led a press conference on the Justice for Jocelyn Act to crack down on the Department of Homeland Security’s “Alternative to Detention” program. Sen. Cruz was joined by Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was assaulted and brutally murdered by two illegal aliens from Venezuela. Sen. Cruz was also joined at the press conference by Harris County District Attorney, Kim Ogg, Representative Troy Nehls, Texas businessman and founder of Galley Furniture, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, and Andy Kahan, Crime Stopper’s Director of Victim Services and Advocacy.
Watch the press conference here.
At the press conference, Sen. Cruz said, “This is a straightforward, commonsense step. It’s something that makes sense. Those of us up here are wearing bracelets that read, ‘Justice for Jocelyn.’ I pray that these bracelets touch more than your wrists—that they touch your heart. Because not only are we grieving for Jocelyn, but we should be grieving for the little girl or little boy who is going to be killed tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. Because as long as the federal government keeps doing what it’s doing—everyday releasing illegal immigrants who are preying on and murdering innocent people—we’re going to see more little girls, more little boys, more women, more men subjected to hell. It’s not right, and as a community we can stand up and say ‘enough is enough.’”
Read the Justice for Jocelyn Act here. Read Sen. Cruz and DA Ogg’s op-ed in the Houston Chronicle here.
BACKGROUND
On June 17, 2024, two Venezuelan illegal aliens assaulted and brutally murdered 12-year-old Houston resident Jocelyn Nungaray. Both suspects were enrolled the Department of Homeland Security’s “Alternative to Detention” (“ATD”) program, meaning they were released into the interior of the United States despite the availability of thousands of ICE detention center beds. One of the suspects was wearing an ICE GPS monitor at the time of Jocelyn’s assault and murder.
The Justice for Jocelyn Act would crack down on ATD by requiring every ICE detention bed to be filled, and, if filled, would require the Secretary of DHS to exhaust all reasonable efforts to keep an alien in custody. Should the Secretary nevertheless release an alien pursuant to ATD, the alien would be subject to continuous GPS monitoring until either their removal from the country or the completion of all immigration proceedings. Finally, Justice for Jocelyn would empower immigration officials to immediately deport illegal aliens who violate the terms of their release.
In 2007, then-Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz argued before the United States Supreme Court inMedellín v. Texas, defending the right of the Texas courts to sentence a foreign national to death for the heinous rape and murder of two American teenage girls. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court sided with Sen. Cruz, agreeing that the president could not usurp the authority of Congress and force Texas courts to abide by international rules that Congress had not been ratified. It was Sen. Cruz’s most notable win before the Supreme Court.
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