Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) says 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts would still “be alive” if the United States’ immigration laws were “seriously” enforced.

Law enforcement announced on Tuesday that Tibbetts’ body was found in a cornfield in her rural hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa after she was last seen jogging on July 18.

Illegal alien Christian Bahena-Rivera, a 24-year-old from Mexico, has been charged with first-degree murder in her death after police say he admitted to confronting and chasing down Tibbetts.

Cotton, a staunch opponent of illegal immigration, said he was praying for the Tibbetts’ family and blamed decades of lax enforcement of immigration laws for the death of the young woman.

“Prayers for Tibbetts family & all who knew & loved Mollie,” Cotton wrote online. “Lots of questions—where did this illegal alien work? what was his work status—but one thing is sure: Mollie would be alive if our government had taken immigration enforcement seriously years ago.”

Prayers for Tibbetts family & all who knew & loved Mollie. Lots of questions—where did this illegal alien work? what was his work status—but one thing is sure: Mollie would be alive if our government had taken immigration enforcement seriously years ago. https://t.co/JScrv7aD5P — Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) August 21, 2018

The illegal alien, charged with first-degree murder, has been living in the U.S. for four to seven years.

“On Aug. 21, ICE lodged a detainer with the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office on Christian Bahena-Rivera, 24, an illegal alien from Mexico, after he was arrested on murder charges,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said in a statement to Breitbart News.

Illegal Alien Charged with First Degree Murder of Mollie Tibbettshttps://t.co/omXOSuUGEZ — John Binder 👽 (@JxhnBinder) August 21, 2018

Police say Bahena-Rivera left Tibbetts’ body in a cornfield, placing corn stalks over her to hide her death.