An area of Houston still reeling from the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray has become a hot spot for legal and illegal immigrants.
Nearly a quarter of the nine-county Houston metropolitan area is made up of immigrants, many of whom have not yet obtained legal status in the United States, according to a report from the Migration Policy Institute.
The report, 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 “indirect effects of record numbers of asylum seekers.” and other Migrants arriving at the border between the United States and Mexico since 2021.”
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“The metropolitan area has hosted 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 far from the southern border, the percentage of immigrants that make up Houston's population far exceeds the proportion of Texas as a whole, which is 17%. Meanwhile, the national proportion of the immigrant population stands at 13.6%.
The report estimates that about two-thirds of the Houston area's nearly 1.7 million immigrants have some form of legal status, while hundreds of thousands face barriers to naturalization in the United States.
The data revealed that Mexico remained the leading country of origin for immigrants in the Houston area, accounting for about 37% of the foreign-born population. But other nationalities account for a growing proportion, with more recently immigrants from Vietnam, India, Nigeria, Venezuela, China and Colombia joining the top 10.
Nearly a quarter of the nine-county Houston metropolitan area is made up of immigrants. (Reuters/Richard Carson)
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The illegal immigrant population in the area came to light last week when two illegal immigrants from Venezuela were charged with Nungaray's murder.
Franklin José Peña Ramos, 26, made his first court appearance Monday in the case, while co-defendant Johan José Martínez-Rangel, 22, is scheduled to make his first appearance Tuesday.
The men, who entered the country illegally before arriving in the Houston area, are accused of luring 12-year-old Nungaray under a secluded bridge, where they tied her up and then killed her.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who is prosecuting the case, told Fox News on Tuesday that it is also “likely” that a “sexual assault” occurred in addition to the murder.
Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, was found strangled in a Houston creek. (Fox Houston courtesy of the Nungaray family)
“The evidence is clear that a sexual assault probably occurred. But since neither of the defendants have actually admitted it, the circumstantial evidence will have to prove it,” Ogg said. “We are waiting for lab tests now to see if the capital murder charge can be elevated to one where they are eligible for the death penalty.”
Meanwhile, new details emerged from Monday's court proceedings, including revelations that Ramos was wearing a Customs and Border Protection ankle monitor at the time of the crime. Martínez-Rangel had worn a similar monitor, although he was able to remove it after clearing immigration checks.
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Meanwhile, Ogg described the Houston area as a “huge international hub.”
“Unfortunately, we see a lot of violence committed by illegal immigrants and we see that many are victims of other illegals and ordinary people here. It's a huge problem. This was bound to happen,” he told Fox News. “It's one of those things where, as an elected prosecutor, you're waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm sick and sick that this little girl was the innocent victim of these two monsters.”
