A Houston area still reeling over the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray has become a hot spot for both legal and illegal immigrants.
Almost a quarter of the nine-county Houston metro area is comprised of immigrants, many of whom have yet to gain legal status in the United States, according to a report by the Migration Policy Institute.
The report, which was released in November, highlights how the Houston region has experienced "significant immigration-related transformations" in recent years, which it notes is in part a result of the "spillover effects of the record high number of asylum seekers and other migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border since 2021."
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"The metro area has welcomed large numbers of humanitarian migrants and Harris County is the top U.S. destination for unaccompanied children released to sponsors," the report reads.
Despite its location away from the southern border, the percentage of immigrants comprising the Houston population far outstrips the total Texas share, which sits at 17%. The national share of the immigrant population, meanwhile, sits at 13.6%.
The report estimates that roughly two-thirds of the Houston area’s nearly 1.7 million immigrant population has some form of legal status, while hundreds of thousands face barriers to naturalization in the United States.
Data revealed that Mexico remained the top origin country for immigrants in the Houston area, comprising about 37% of the foreign-born population. But other nationalities comprise a growing share, with immigrants from Vietnam, India, Nigeria, Venezuela, China and Colombia more recently joining the top 10.
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The population of illegal immigrants in the area entered the spotlight last week when two illegal immigrants from Venezuela were charged in the murder of Nungaray.
Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, made his first appearance in court Monday in the case, while 22-year-old co-defendant Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel is scheduled to make his first appearance Tuesday.
The men, who entered the country illegally before making their way to the Houston area, are accused of luring the 12-year-old Nungaray under a secluded bridge, where she was tied up and later killed.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who is prosecuting the case, told Fox News Tuesday that it is also "likely" that a "sexual assault happened" in addition to the murder.
"The evidence is clear that a sexual assault likely happened. But since neither defendant has actually admitted that, circumstantial evidence will have to prove it," Ogg said. "We are waiting on lab tests now to see if the capital murder charge can be upgraded to one where they are death penalty eligible."
Meanwhile, new details emerged out of Monday’s court proceedings, including revelations that Ramos was wearing a Customs and Border Protection ankle monitor at the time of the crime. Martinez-Rangel had worn a similar monitor, though he was able to remove his after complying with immigration check-ins.
Meanwhile, Ogg described the Houston area as a "huge international hub."
"Unfortunately, we see a great deal of violence committed by illegal immigrants and we see as many victimized by other illegals and regular people here. It’s an enormous problem. This was bound to happen," she told Fox News. "It’s one of those things that, as an elected prosecutor, you are just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m just sick and sickened this little girl was the innocent victim of these two monsters."
