EXCLUSIVE: Cornyn bringing bill to enshrine Trump EO renaming refuge after Jocelyn Nungaray into law
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is planning to introduce a bill that would enshrine into law President Donald Trump's executive order to rename a national park after a 12-year-old Houston girl allegedly killed by two illegal immigrants.
The bill is being brought forward by Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, to make it more difficult for future administrations, Republican or Democrat, to change the name of the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge.
"Jocelyn Nungaray was taken from this world far too soon at the hands of brutal killers who were in the U.S. illegally due to President Biden’s open-border policies, and her legacy deserves to live on forever," Cornyn told Fox News Digital. "I am proud to lead this legislation alongside Congressman Babin to ensure President Trump’s renaming of this sanctuary to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge is made permanent."
During his joint address to Congress in March, Trump announced the renaming of the 39,000-acre sanctuary, formerly known as the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, along the Texas Gulf Coast.
In April, officials held a renaming ceremony for the park.
"One thing I have learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so much. She loved nature. Across Galveston Bay, from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you will find a magnificent national wildlife refuge, a pristine, peaceful, 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God's creatures on the edge of the Gulf of America," Trump said during his address.
The bill would codify the park's new name into law, making the process to change it more difficult.
"The heartbreaking murder of Jocelyn Nungaray shook our community to its core, and it never should have happened," Babin said in a statement. "Today, we are introducing legislation to honor Jocelyn’s life and to send a clear message: securing our border and restoring the rule of law is not optional, it’s essential. President Trump’s leadership is making America safe again, and we are proud to stand with him to ensure that no family ever has to endure such a tragedy again."
"Honoring Jocelyn isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue — it’s an American issue," he added.
"Ms. Nungaray loved animals and, given the close proximity of her hometown of Houston, it is fitting that the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge be renamed in her honor," the bill's text states.
Cornyn said he learned of Nungaray's love of nature while getting to know her family.
Nungaray's killing, as well as others involving illegal immigrant suspects, became a flash point during the 2024 presidential election as Trump campaigned on a platform of deporting criminals in the U.S. illegally. Nungaray, who lived in Houston, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted before she was strangled to death and left dead under a bridge in June 2024 by Franklin Pena, 26, and Johan Martinez-Rangel, 22, Harris County prosecutors said.
Both men, alleged members of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua who entered the United States illegally, face capital murder charges and the death penalty.