A high-profile immigration case in Georgia has ignited a political firestorm, placing Sen. Jon Ossoff under renewed scrutiny as he campaigns for re-election this November.
According to Fox News, the controversy centers on a Department of Homeland Security announcement from Jan. 27 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against Mexican national Kenneth Moreno Guzman.
Guzman is accused of breaking into the back door of a Georgia family’s home earlier that month and raping an 11-year-old girl while threatening her 10-year-old sister with a knife.
“Another horrific tragedy for two innocent children by the hands of a criminal illegal alien. This monster should have never been in our country in the first place,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release at the time.
“These are the victims President Trump and Secretary Noem are fighting for and the media and sanctuary politicians ignore. We have lodged an arrest detainer to ensure ICE is notified to arrest this creep before he can prey on more innocent children.”
Fox News further reported that a search found no public comment from Ossoff acknowledging the crime or ICE’s involvement until Tuesday.
When reached for comment, Ossoff said, “Instead of raiding Americans’ homes without judicial warrants, demanding Americans’ papers at checkpoints and detaining 5-year olds, Americans want ICE to return to its purpose: arresting violent criminals like Kenneth Moreno Guzman who are here illegally, and I commend the law enforcement professionals involved in this criminal’s arrest.”
Several Republicans seeking to unseat Ossoff seized on what they described as weeks of silence.
“It’s been utter silence from Jon Ossoff about the illegal alien who raped an 11-year-old girl and held her 10-year-old sister at knifepoint in Ossoff’s own backyard — just like his silence when Joe Biden opened the southern border four years ago,” former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley told Fox News Digital. “It tells you everything you need to know about who he is and what he stands for.”
Rep. Mike Collins said Ossoff has had “every opportunity to stand up to his liberal donors in California and New York to protect Georgia’s sons and daughters, and he has failed our state every single time.”
“Every day that Jon Ossoff is in the Senate is a day these criminals have a friend in Washington, D.C.,” Collins added.
Rep. Buddy Carter also criticized the senator, saying, “Ossoff was silent on Laken Riley and is now silent on the 11-year-old victim of Kenneth Guzman. He wants illegals to vote for him, which is why he refuses to speak out against them — even though they wouldn’t be allowed into his rallies without an ID. Ossoff’s Democrat Party has become the party of rapists, pedophiles and murderers. Georgians, even those who are victims of violent crimes, are — at best — an afterthought.”
Ossoff previously honored Laken Riley’s life inside the Georgia state legislature, reportedly expressing his “shock and outrage” over her death. He later voted in favor of the stand-alone Laken Riley Act in January 2025 after initially opposing a procedural motion tied to an earlier version of the bill.
The Georgia Senate race is expected to draw national attention as Republicans work to defend their 53-47 majority. The GOP primary to determine Ossoff’s challenger is set for May 19.
