HOUSTON – Senator Ted Cruz is pushing for Congress to support a bill called the Justice for Jocelyn Act.
TIMELINE: Significant events surrounding death 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray | Sen. Ted Cruz details what the ‘Justice for Jocelyn Act’ will look like
The bill is named after a 12-year-old Houston girl who prosecutors say was murdered by two undocumented immigrants from Venezuela on June 16, 2024.
To learn more, KPRC 2 anchor Andy Cerota spoke with Senator Cruz about his plans to introduce it for a second time before congress.
Andy Cerota: Thank you so much for joining us. I want to jump right in here. What compelled you to get involved and work with the Nungaray family to create this act? And what will it do?
Sen. Ted Cruz: Well, listen, there is no greater public safety threat we’re facing right now than the open borders we’ve had for the last four years. And we have seen all across the country victims of violent crime, victims of murder and sexual assaults, and all sorts of horrific crimes from violent criminal illegal aliens released by Joe Biden and this administration that is going to end on Jan. 20. We are going to secure the border. But if you look at the victims, none was more tragic than Jocelyn Nungaray, right here in Houston. Jocelyn, a beautiful 12-year-old girl violently raped and murdered by two illegal aliens, violent criminals who were apprehended and released immediately by Joe Biden and this administration. And they came directly to Houston. They kidnapped and raped and murdered that beautiful little girl. And what is so infuriating and is that crime was preventable. It should never, ever have happened. All the Biden administration had to do was follow the law and keep those two Venezuelan gang members in detention, not release them. And Jocelyn would still be alive. And so, the Justice for Jocelyn Act mandates that when illegal aliens are apprehended, that they be kept in detention as long as there are better facilities that are open. There were thousands of open beds and detention facilities. And yet the Biden administration decided to release these two violent criminals. And so today I’m reintroducing the Justice for Jocelyn Act to put it to make it a legal requirement that illegal aliens be held in detention and not released to protect the next little girl, the next little boy, and to prevent them from tragically becoming yet another victim of violent crime.
Andy: So back in July, it was introduced, but didn’t make it through a committee. How are you working to build consensus across the aisle?
Sen. Cruz: I will say, it didn’t get a vote because the Democrats controlled the Senate and that meant in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Dick Durbin was the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He would not allow a vote. Chuck Schumer was the majority leader. He would not allow a vote in the position of Democrats in the previous Congresses—they supported Joe Biden’s open borders across the board. Now, this is a new Congress. We now have a Republican majority in the House, a Republican majority in the Senate, and obviously a Republican president who will be sworn in on Jan. 20. And if you look at the election results, I think the election results were overwhelming. And there is a clear mandate from the American people and there’s no mandate clearer than to secure the border and get it done now. And so I am pressing hard to get a vote on the floor of the Senate. And I’m hopeful that some of my Democrat colleagues who have reflexively voted against common-sense legislation to protect Americans from violent crime. I’m hopeful that they will change their mind and decide to do the right thing and protect our kids and protect our families. That is certainly my hope. And I think we’re going to get a vote on it. And I hope I hope we can get it passed.
Andy: There’s another component to this. There’s a curfew aspect to this bill, and it was proposed by Jocelyn’s grandfather. Tell us about that.
Sen. Cruz: Well, that’s right. So, I’ve sat down and spent quite a bit of time with Jocelyn’s mom, Alexis, and with Jocelyn’s grandfather, Kelvin. And. And the tragedy they experienced something no human being should ever have to endure. Losing a child, I think, is the worst pain anyone can possibly go through. And even worse is to lose a child in the manner in which Jocelyn was taken. And I will say, Alexis, Jocelyn’s mom, is a young woman with incredible courage who has used her heartbreak and agony and pain. She has channeled it into fighting to fix this problem, to secure the border, fighting to pass the Justice for Jocelyn Act. And as we were sitting there in their living room talking, Kelvin, Jocelyn’s grandfather suggested one provision is if all the bed space is occupied and there is no other alternative other than releasing some people who are detained. This mandates that they have ankle bracelets and continuous GPS monitoring and it mandates also a curfew at night so that they cannot be out at midnight, which is when Jocelyn was killed. And Kelvin made the point that it doesn’t always happen. These crimes don’t always happen late at night, but the vast majority of them do. And so that’s one of the aspects of this bill as well, that that came from Jocelyn’s grandfather.
Andy: The family has turned their heartache into action. In past interviews, Jocelyn’s mom had expressed concern that her daughter would be forgotten after the election. This bill shows the fight for justice for Jocelyn is still very much alive. Is that an accurate statement?
Sen. Cruz: That is a very accurate statement. And I’m going to continue fighting until we get this passed and signed into law. And I’m going to continue fighting until the border is secured and we’re able to protect our families. We have lost too many loved ones to violent crime, particularly you look at Venezuelan gang members where you have murderers and rapists and child molesters that are being released. And every single day we’re seeing another American victim of violent crime from the open borders. We have on top of that, we have an enormous risk of terrorism. I think today we have a greater risk of a major terrorist attack than any time since Sept. 11. And the open borders we have are an invitation for terrorists to come across our southern border and target innocent Americans. We have got to secure the border and keep people safe. And I’m going to keep fighting for Jocelyn. And I’ve told Alexis and Kelvin I just admire the courage they have shown so much. Like, I would understand it if Alexis just curled up in a ball and wept. Losing your child in such a horrific way. And she has a strength somehow to keep on fighting and to fight for Jocelyn’s memory to make a difference. She knows she can’t bring Jocelyn back. But. But. But with Alexis’s leadership, hopefully we can stop another little girl, another little boy from becoming a victim of another horrific crime like this.
Andy: She certainly is waging a courageous battle. Before we let you go, I want to ask you about the Laken Riley Act, which passed the House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon, named after a nursing student who was killed by an undocumented immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus. So how is what you’re trying to accomplish different?
Sen. Cruz: Well, they’re addressing different aspects of the same problem. The Laken Riley Bill we’re going to vote on today. And I think there’s a very real chance that the Senate will take up the lake and Laken Riley Bill. Now, that takes 60 votes. That means we need to get seven Democrats to vote yes, but a number of Democrats have publicly come out supporting the bill they didn’t used to in the prior Congress. But I think there’s a very good chance they will vote today to take up the bill. The Laken Riley bill requires the detention of illegal immigrants who have criminal convictions in their past with Laken Riley was a murderer. In that case, he had a criminal conviction. He clearly should have he should have been detained. It also includes a provision allowing state officials to sue the federal government if the federal government is refusing to follow immigration law and citizens of the state are injured. I think Laken Riley Bill is common sense legislation. Laken Riley, like Jocelyn, was should never have been a victim of violence. And I’ll tell you if we get the Laken Riley Bill passed it gives me greater optimism that we will also get Justice for Jocelyn passed. That the same Democrats who are realizing their party was wrong on these open borders. I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will listen to the voters who spoke clearly and unequivocally. If you look across the country at the presidential election, Donald Trump won the popular vote nationally of the seven battleground states across the country, Donald Trump won all seven. You look at the state of Texas. In Texas, I was Chuck Schumer’s number one target. My race was a quarter-billion-dollar race, $250 million. They threw everything they had at us, and I ended up winning by nine points, winning by a million votes statewide. And I’ll tell you something, Andy, that I’m particularly proud of. I won Hispanics statewide by six points and the Rio Grande Valley, which, as you know, has been bright blue for 100 years. The Rio Grande Valley flipped red. That is a generational change, profoundly important for Texas. This and nothing else had a greater impact. Just for that flip. Then the open borders we’ve seen for the last four years. And so I hope my colleagues look at the clear results of the November election and listen to the voters who want to keep their families safe and want to secure this border.
Andy: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, we appreciate your time this afternoon. Thank you so much.
Sen. Cruz: Thank you. Appreciate it.
