Things had been quiet for Alexis Nungaray since the November election, but her schedule is starting to fill up again.
The mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old north Houston girl who was murdered last June, allegedly at the hands of a pair of immigrants who were in the country illegally, has been on a crusade in memory of her daughter for months. Alexis Nungaray traveled the country last year campaigning for President Donald Trump and other Republicans who promised anti-immigrant policies they say will prevent a murder similar to Jocelyn’s from happening again.
Wednesday marked the first time she has appeared at her own state’s capitol, testifying in Austin at a Senate Criminal Justice Committee hearing in favor of a bill that would deny bail to immigrants who enter the country illegally and later are charged with a felony.
“After the election, it got really really quiet and made me feel uneasy. For a brief moment I kind of felt like I was used and there was no action behind what I did,” Nungaray said Wednesday afternoon. “Now that things are kind of picking up, it’s a good reminder to know I’m doing what I’m doing for a reason.”
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Two Venezuelan nationals, Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, are accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering Jocelyn in June. The defendants entered the U.S. illegally near El Paso in March and May respectively, and were released with pending immigration court hearings, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Tearful campaign appearances by Nungaray alongside Republican candidates and political advertisements featuring her daughter’s story proved to be powerful political tools as the GOP swept into power in Washington and retained control of all branches of the Texas state government. Republicans now are making good on their campaign promises to clamp down on immigration and crime across the board.
“This legislation merges together two prominent Republican talking points: illegal immigrants and crime issues,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.
Senate Joint Resolution 1 – authored by Houston-area Republican Sen. Joan Huffman – was the centerpiece of the committee hearing where Nungaray testified. The legislation would amend the Texas Constitution to allow the state to deny bail to any person charged with a felony who entered the country illegally. The bill also would apply to anyone admitted into the country as a nonimmigrant — meaning someone with permission to stay in the country temporarily for travel, work or school — who failed to maintain nonimmigrant status.
“SJR 1 shows the state’s commitment to protect our citizens and assist the federal government in their efforts to prevent violent illegal aliens from terrorizing our communities,” Huffman said during the hearing.
The proposal comes on the heels of Trump’s signing of the Laken Riley Act, a federal law that mandates the detention of any person without legal status “accused of theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and any crime that causes death or serious bodily injury.”
Huffman said her measure would support the federal government in implementing that law by allowing the state to detain individuals until federal immigration enforcement can step in.
The proposal has faced opposition from activists who say it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which prohibits the state from denying “equal protection of the laws” to any person in its jurisdiction.
In her testimony before the committee, Nungaray recounted attending the bail hearing for her daughter’s accused killers in the days after her murder, calling the experience “inhumane.”
“It’s just not right,” Nungaray said later. “They already committed a crime being here illegally, and the fact that they can be part of a more heinous crime on American soil, they shouldn’t be provided the opportunity to make bail.”
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Rottinghaus said he expects pressure on legislators to approve the constitutional amendment and send it to voters for final approval later this year will be high.
“The personal aspect of this is powerful. It’s something that Republicans have been successful at branding,” Rottinghaus said. “This is telling a tragic story that for Republicans is an opportunity to make sure it doesn’t happen again and tighten the political screws on any opposition.”
The resolution was just one part of a package of bills intended to reform the state’s bail system, and Harris County was the poster child for much of the Republican arguments in favor of them.
“The emphasis is on Harris County because they are the worst offenders,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said during a news conference in support of the bills later Wednesday. “The judges on those benches are the worst offenders.”
Nungaray was joined by several other family members of Houston murder victims who called on senators to support the four proposals before them. Representatives of Crime Stoppers of Houston also testified to argue that Harris County’s bail system has led to further violent crime.
Senate Joint Resolution 5, also authored by Huffman, would allow judges or magistrates to deny bail to people charged with certain violent offenses, first-degree felony sexual offenses or continuous human trafficking. A hearing still would need to be held, and if the judge or magistrate finds there is evidence the defendant presents a flight risk or risk to the community, they would need to write a report detailing their decision. Currently, the right to pretrial release is guaranteed for defendants except in limited circumstances, such as a capital murder charge.
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Senate Bill 9, a priority of Patrick’s this session, builds on previous bail reform legislation by proposing defendants can not be released on low-cost or cashless personal bonds if they have been charged with terroristic threats, violations of certain court orders or bond in family violence cases, child abuse, sexual assault, unlawful possession of a firearm or murder resulting from the manufacturing or distribution of fentanyl. The legislation also would allow state prosecutors to appeal if they are not satisfied with the bail set for someone charged with a felony.
The final bill laid out by Huffman, Senate Bill 40, would ban political subdivisions from using public funds to pay charitable bail organizations.
The two constitutional amendments and two bills were advanced to the Senate floor Wednesday by unanimous 6-0 votes.
Representatives from The Bail Project testified in opposition to the bills, arguing they will cost taxpayers by increasing mass incarceration in a state that already has among the highest incarceration rates in the world.
“Texas taxpayers already spend a billion dollars each year to keep people in jail, not because they pose a threat but simply because they can’t afford bail,” The Bail Project CEO David Gaspar wrote in a statement. “These bills would make that problem even worse. Rather than throwing away taxpayers’ hard-earned money on jailing their fellow Texans just for being too poor, we should look for ways to safely release people while they wait for their trial.”
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The Harris County Jail long has failed to comply with the state’s minimum standards as issues with overcrowding have worsened due to a backlog of criminal cases. Last week, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards requested that the Texas Attorney General intervene in its longstanding efforts to force the Harris County Jail into compliance.
The efforts at bail reform did find some local support from Mayor John Whitmire, who had supported similar efforts as chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee in 2021 and 2023, before being elected mayor.
Whitmire wrote a letter in support of SJR 5, arguing the legislation strikes a balance between protecting victims and law enforcement by applying it to a limited number of violent crimes.
“As Houston Mayor, I see firsthand the impact that violent crime has on our residents,” Whitmire wrote. “Providing our judicial system with a way to hold the most dangerous offenders accountable while ensuring due process is critical to maintaining public trust and safety.”
Newly-elected Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare also wrote a letter to the committee, voicing support for the general thrust of SJR 5 while declining to take a position for or against the legislation.
Teare wrote that he agrees the criminal justice system needs tools to lock up the most dangerous offenders while also taking care to impose the least restrictive bail conditions on those who do not pose a risk to the community. He also pointed to a lack of resources for crime labs and prosecutors that can lead to increases in violent crime and require legislative help.
“There are many challenges within our existing bail system, and I want you to know that I am committed to working alongside the legislature to find the best ways to reform our laws in order to protect the public while continuing to uphold the founding principles of our Constitution, state law, and our values as fellow Texans,” Teare wrote.
The pressure is on for the legislature to pass the proposals before the end of the session on May 29.
Gov. Greg Abbott declared bail reform an emergency item last month, allowing legislators to work around normal order and begin debating the proposals immediately. Patrick has also declared several of the items a priority.
Attempts at bail reform in 2021 and 2023, including a proposal similar to Huffman’s SJR 5, failed in the House of Representatives, much to the frustration of Patrick. During a new conference following the committee hearing, Patrick and Huffman leaned on House members to approve the proposals this session.
“We’re going to play hard ball this time,” Huffman said.
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