There’s controversy surrounding the immigration status of a man accused of murdering a graduate student on New Year’s Eve.
Tonight on The Kelly File, Trace Gallagher reported that the suspect rode his bike to a San Antonio park on NYE. That’s when he came in contact with 24-year-old Lauren Bump who was out for a jog. Police say Christian Bautista killed her and then went home and confessed the entire crime to his roommate.
Bautista was released two months earlier from an Alabama prison for robbing and severely beating a man back in 2007. He was born in Mexico, and in 2006, he flagged by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
ICE said in a statement: “Christian Ivan Bautista-Velasco had been referred by local law enforcement to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in the past. However, it was later determined that he is a U.S. citizen. Therefore, ICE has no jurisdiction regarding this individual.”
However, a local station in San Antonio is reporting that an ICE source says Bautista received his citizenship between the robbery conviction and the murder. Fox News has not independently confirmed that and is waiting for a response from ICE.
Stay tuned for the latest developments on this case.