AP report skewered for omitting men suspected of murdering Houston girl were illegal immigrants: ‘Shameless’

Prominent social media users blasted the Associated Press for a report that failed to mention that the two men suspected of killing a 12-year-old Houston girl were illegal immigrants.

The AP’s report that two Hispanic men were arrested on Thursday for the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston said nothing about the fact the suspects were illegal immigrants from Venezuela who crossed over the U.S. southern border in March. 

"This is not journalism. And hundreds of smaller outlets will run this word-for-word," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, posted to X after seeing the story.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECTS IN TEXAS GIRL’S MURDER WERE RECENTLY CAUGHT BY BORDER PATROL, RELEASED INTO US 

Police arrested the two illegal immigrants Thursday after surveillance footage revealed they were with Nungaray before her body was found in a Houston creek that Monday.

The two men "lured" her under a bridge in Houston before tying her up and killing her, prosecutors allege in new court documents obtained by Fox News. 

In AP’s version of the story, headlined "2 men arrested in strangulation of 12-year-old Houston girl whose body was found in a creek," the outlet didn’t describe the two murder suspects beyond giving their names and ages. 

It stated, "Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, each face a charge of capital murder in the killing of Jocelyn Nungaray, police said. The medical examiner has determined that her cause of death was strangulation."

It further mentioned that the two men were "roommates."

However, the same day of their arrest, Fox News reported that the two suspects from Venezuela had entered the U.S. illegally before being released from custody, news that Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed the next day. 

The AP story has not been updated to reflect that Martinez and Ramos were in the country illegally.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

The omission sparked a furor among conservatives and other media critics.

Sen. Cruz also commented, "@ap is fundamentally dishonest. ‘2 men’ Entire story doesn’t mention that the murderers were ILLEGAL ALIENS."

Conservative attorney Harmeet Dhillon corrected the story, commenting, "Two illegal aliens from Venezuela, you mean."

The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller posted a sarcastic question, writing, "Any other details we should be aware of or informed about here, AP?"

Fox News contributor Joe Concha stated, "Were these ‘2 men’ in this country legally, AP? Might want to include that part about this horrific story."

Former Trump senior advisor Stephen Miller blasted both the Biden administration and the AP in how the outlet covered it, posting, "Biden freed two illegal aliens into America now charged with the most heinous and evil crime against a child. This is how the AP covers it. Shameless."

And GOP political strategist Chris LaCivita wrote, "rewrite: 2 illegal aliens arrested in strangulation of 12 -year-old Houston girl whose body was found in a creek."

The Associated Press did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman, Bill Melugin, and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Biden DHS docs suggested Trump supporters, military and religious people are likely violent terror threats

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advisory board suggested that supporters of former President Donald Trump – as well as those who served in the military or are religious – have a greater possibility of posing domestic terrorism risks, according to internal files obtained by America First Legal (AFL).

Named the "Homeland Intelligence Experts Group," the now-disbanded board was created in September 2023 to provide DHS with "expert" analysis on subjects like terrorism and the trafficking of certain controlled substances like fentanyl.

The panel, according to the conservative legal nonprofit's findings, included former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan, both of whom signed onto an October 2020 letter falsely dismissing Hunter Biden's infamous laptop as Russian disinformation.

The documents revealed that the board suggested "supporters of the former president" accounted for "most of the Domestic Terrorism threat" in the U.S.

BIDEN'S CONTROVERSIAL DHS 'EXPERTS' PANEL SHUTTERED AFTER BEING SLAPPED WITH LAWSUIT

"There is a political backdrop to all of this. It seems that most of the Domestic Terrorism threat now comes from supporters of the former president. It is not like you want a political advantage, but people have attacked the government and its institutions for the last six years," meeting notes from the board stated.

Citing unnamed "researchers," the board also claimed that specific traits – like those who served "in the military" or are "religious" – are "indicators of extremists and terrorism" that the U.S. should be "more worried" about.

"If you ask researchers to dive into indicators of extremists and terrorism, they might indicate being in the military or religious," the board said. "This being identified as an indicator suggests we should be more worried about those. We need the space to talk about it honestly."

The files were released Friday as the second installment of AFL's "#DeepStateDiaries," which was described by the organization as a "multi-part series of releases including newly obtained documents."

"These shocking records reveal apparent unabashed partisanship on this Deep State committee," AFL Executive Director Gene Hamilton told Fox News Digital. "All efforts to weaponize the federal government against political opponents of the ruling regime should be stopped. We look forward to exposing more records in the coming days."

Echoing Hamilton in a statement shared on social media, AFL President Stephen Miller said the documents "reveal a shocking Biden plan to mobilize government power against Trump supporters ahead of the election."

On Thursday, AFL released documents pertaining to how the board discussed efforts to "get into local communities in a non-threatening way."

RISK OF TERROR ATTACK ON US SOIL RISES TO ALARMINGLY HIGH LEVEL, EXPERTS WARN

Certain efforts outlined in the files released Thursday showed how the board hoped to enhance its ability to collect information about Americans.

The group of "experts" said the "See Something, Say Something" campaign following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City fell short because "Americans have an ambivalent feeling of telling on each other."

"We see people who go off the rails. We need people to say something. We need a nationwide campaign to push it to the locals," the meeting notes stated.

"To get a mother or teacher to come forward, it needs to be a public health catcher's mitt," one board member noted.

Following its successful lawsuit on behalf of former Acting Director of the United States National Intelligence Ric Grenell, AFL announced last month that the Biden administration had decided to "disband" the group.

The Homeland Intelligence Experts Group was announced by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last year. The group was a collection of figures from the private sector to provide perspectives on the government’s intelligence and national security efforts.

"The security of the American people depends on our capacity to collect, generate, and disseminate actionable intelligence to our federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, campus, and private sector partners," Mayorkas said in a statement at the time.

DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

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