President Donald Trump on March 4 signed an executive order renaming a wildlife sanctuary after Jocelyn Nungaray, who was 12 when she was allegedly killed by illegal immigrants.
Trump renamed the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge.
“Jocelyn was a precious 12 year old girl beloved by her family and friends for her kindness and infectious zeal for life. She loved animals and had a passion for ensuring that they had homes,” he wrote. “It is fitting and in the national interest, therefore, that the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, a scenic area for coastal wildlife and recreation along the Gulf of America near Jocelyn’s home in Texas, will forever honor and preserve the memory of a beautiful American, Jocelyn Nungaray.”
While speaking to Congress later on March 4, Trump said that the death of Jocelyn and the suffering it caused her family “touched our entire nation.”
Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn’s mother, was one of Trump’s guests at his speech.
“Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter, your magnificent daughter, and earlier tonight I signed an order keeping my word to you,” Trump said.
Nungaray appeared on the campaign trail with Trump in 2024, blaming her daughter’s death on the lax immigration enforcement under then-President Joe Biden.
“The Biden–Harris policies we have here are why she’s not here anymore,“ she said at the time. ”I will forever be a grieving mother, and my son will forever be a grieving brother who will no longer get to grow up with his sister.”
Nungaray said then-Vice President Kamala Harris had recently apologized to her but that the apology, in her opinion, came too late.
Jocelyn was killed in Houston on June 17, 2024. Two illegal immigrants from Venezuela, who are allegedly members of the Tren de Aragua gang, have been charged with murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping.
The two men were detained by Customs and Border Protection agents after entering the United States but were released with the promise that they would appear in court at a later date, according to authorities. At least one of the defendants was still wearing an ankle monitor when he was arrested.
A White House spokesperson told media outlets in 2024 that the White House could not comment on active law enforcement cases but said that “anyone found guilty of this type of heinous and shocking crime should be held accountable, to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Jocelyn’s murder was as vile, brutal and senseless as any case in my tenure as district attorney,” then-Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement that year, after announcing her office would seek the death penalty against the defendants.
