Cristhian Rivera, a suspected illegal immigrant from Mexico, was charged on Tuesday

He is accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts and dumping her body in a cornfield in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa on July 18

Trump was among the first to turn talk of Mollie's death into calls for tighter immigration laws calling them a 'disgrace'

Other conservatives were also quick to point out Rivera's illegal status in their commentary of the murder

Mollie's cousin Sam Lucas lashed out at those conservatives on Wednesday, accusing them of using her death as 'political propaganda'

It is not known when he came from Guerrero, his home state in Mexico, to the US

A cousin of Mollie Tibbetts has slammed conservatives for using the college student's murder as 'political propaganda' after President Trump led the calls for tougher immigration after her killer's arrest.

Cristhian Rivera, a 24-year-old suspected illegal immigrant from Mexico, was charged on Tuesday with killing Mollie and dumping her body in a cornfield in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa on July 18.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trump was among the first to turn talk of Mollie's death into calls for tighter immigration laws when he spoke at a rally in West Virginia late Tuesday.

Other conservatives, including commentator Candace Owen, also tweeted asking what leftists would do for Mollie after they 'cried when illegal immigrants were temporarily separated from their parents'.

Scroll down for video

Mollie's cousin, Sam Lucas, lashed out at Owen in a series of fiery tweets saying she was using the college student's murder as political propaganda.

Mollie's cousin Sam Lucas slammed conservatives for using the 20-year-old college student's murder as 'political propaganda' in wake of killer's arrest

'We are not so f**king small-minded that we generalize a whole population based on some bad individuals. Now stop being a f**king snake and using my cousin's death as political propaganda. Take her name out of your mouth,' Sam wrote.

'And fyi @RealCandaceO, my whole family is hurting right now and you're not helping. You're despicable and this is so far from the loving and kind soul that Mollie was. My prayers go out to you in hopes that maybe you'll become a better person. Not hedging my bets tho.'

Sam later clarified that she didn't speak for the whole Tibbetts family and was only trying to argue that they should be able to grieve without politics.

The Mexican national charged over Mollie's death had been living in Iowa and, according to cops and the government, had been working illegally for anywhere between four and seven years, police said on Tuesday.

He was arrested after recently recovered surveillance footage led police to his Chevy Malibu following a month-long investigation into Mollie's disappearance.

Click here to resize this module

Trump was speaking at a West Virginia rally when he said the 'incredible, beautiful' young woman's death should never have happened.

'You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in very sadly from Mexico and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman,' he told the crowd.

'Should have never happened. Illegally in our country. We've had a huge impact but the laws are so bad.

'The immigration laws are such a disgrace. We're getting them changed but we have to get more Republicans. We have to get,' Trump said to cheers of 'build the wall'.

However, M. Richards, an attorney for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, stated in a court document filed Wednesday that an employer has said Rivera is in the U.S. legally.

ADVERTISEMENT

The document names Craig Lang, a former head of the Iowa Board of Regents who is co-owner of a dairy that employed Rivera. The Lang family said in a statement Tuesday that Rivera's immigration status had been confirmed by an E-Verify electronic immigration status check.

Richards argued for a gag order in the case and mentioned President Donald Trump, who he described as "sad and sorry Trump." Trump mentioned the case at a rally Tuesday night in West Virginia and said it demonstrated the need for tougher immigration laws.

Richards said Trump's comments will 'poison the entire possible pool of jury members' and asked the court to prevent the government from claiming Rivera is in the country illegally.

Iowa's Governor Kim Reynolds said she and the rest of the state were 'heartbroken' by the discovery of Mollie's body.

She also blamed the young woman's death on the country's 'broken' immigration system, tweeting: 'As Iowans, we are heartbroken and we are angry.

'We are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator to live in our community and we will do all we can to bring justice to Mollie's killer.

'Over the past month, thousands of Iowans searched and prayed for Mollie's safe return.

On social media, commentators including Iowa's governor said they were 'heartbroken' by the fact an 'illegal' immigrant had committed the killing

'Now, we are called to come together to lift up a grieving family. The search for Mollie is over, but the demand for justice has just begun.'

Former congressman Joe Walsh said: 'Mollie Tibbetts would be alive today if this nation enforced its immigration laws.

'A 20-year-old American girl was murdered by a damn illegal. A person who shouldn't have ever been in this country!

'Mollie Tibbetts had her whole life ahead of her. But because of an illegal, she'll never get to live it.

'First, Kate Steinle. Now, Mollie Tibbetts. Unacceptable.'

Gov. Mike Huckabee said he was 'sick to his stomach'.

'Suspect is illegal immigrant. If found guilty he will be reminder why sanctuary cities and open borders are as stupid as the politicians who promote them.'

Fox pundit Laura Ingraham tweeted merely: 'OUTRAGE!' and conservative commentator Tomi Lahren dedicated an entire video to the subject on her Facebook page.

'Hey liberals, you wanna talk about child separation? How about this, 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts has been violently and permanently separated from her parents at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

ADVERTISEMENT

'Yet another young person has been murdered by an illegal immigrant. This time a 24-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico who's been living in the area illegally for four to seven years.

'Yeah, we have American citizens who murder. That's true. That's why we don't need to deal with it from people who have no legal right to be here in the first place,' she fumed.

US Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst vowed: 'We cannot allow these tragedies to continue.'

It remains unclear exactly how long Rivera, who is from the Mexican state of Guerrero originally, had been living in the US.

Conservative pundit Tomi Lahren fumed as she addressed Mollie's murder in a Facebook video

Rivera has been living illegally in Iowa for between four and seven years

Rivera has been living illegally in Iowa for between four and seven years

Rivera's employer Yarrabee Farms (pictured) denied hiring illegal immigrants and said the family-run firm would cooperate fully with the Tibbetts inquiry. He said Rivera passed a background check when he was employed

This is the home Rivera was staying in Iowa. He lived with his baby and his girlfriend

Authorities say Rivera had been living near Brooklyn, Iowa, for the last four to seven years. In 2013, he met Iris Monarrez, with whom he now has a baby (pictured). She is friends with Mollie on Facebook

ICE has no record of ever trying to deport him and the Iowa farm where he worked confirmed yesterday that he had passed background checks when he was employed.

Many have compared Mollie's murder to the 2015 killing of Kate Steinle (pictured) who was shot dead by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco

Dane Lang, co-owner of Yarrabee Farms along with Eric Lang, confirmed that Rivera had worked there for four years and was an employee 'of good standing.'

Dane's brother is Craig Lang, former president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Board of Regents, and a 2018 Republican candidate for state secretary of agriculture.

Dane's statement said: 'First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mollie Tibbetts.

'This is a profoundly sad day for our community. All of us at Yarrabee Farms are shocked to hear that one of our employees was involved and is charged in this case.

'This individual has worked at our farms for four years, was vetted through the government's E-Verify system, and was an employee in good standing.

Mollie was abducted while running along 385th street, in Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18, and her body was discovered just over a month later in a corn field in Poweshiek County

'On Monday, the authorities visited our farm and talked to our employees. We have cooperated fully with their investigation.'

The E-Verify site allows employers to establish the eligibility of employees, both US or foreign, by comparing a worker's Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 with data held by the government.

He went to get her out of the trunk and noticed blood on the side of her head... he then dragged Tibbetts on foot to a secluded location in a cornfield, put her over his shoulder and took her 20 meters into the field where he left her, covered up in some leaves

The employee is eligible to work in the US if the data matches. If it doesn't, the worker has only eight federal government work days to resolve the issue.

Rivera lived in Iowa with his girlfriend, who was friends with Mollie on Facebook, and their baby daughter.

The girlfriend fled town on Tuesday after his arrest.

Many of those who commented on Mollie's death compared it to the 2015 death of Kate Steinle who was shot to death by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco.

Her killer had been reported to ICE but was allowed to go free because he was living in a sanctuary city.

On July 18, Rivera followed Mollie around Brooklyn in his dark Chevy Malibu, watching her as she jogged ahead of him.

He eventually parked his car, got out and started jogging behind her then alongside her to try to have a conversation.

When she refused and threatened to call the police, he attacked. Rivera told police he 'blacked out' and does not remember what exactly he did to her but that he 'came to' while driving his car with Mollie in the trunk.

He then dragged her lifeless body into a cornfield 10 miles away and dumped her, covering her corpse with some leaves. s

As the five-week hunt for her intensified, there was mention of a dark SUV driving around the neighborhood where she was last seen at around 7.30pm.

Police were only able to link Rivera to the car by watching surveillance footage they obtained from cameras at someone's home.

They discovered the cameras while canvassing the neighborhood a week ago and spent days combing through the footage.

On Monday, Rivera did not resist police. He went with them willingly, made a full confession and then led them to Mollie's body. His motive remains unclear.

The family were emotional as they heard that Mollie's body had been discovered

Friends and family of missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts react following a news conference

In his arrest warrant, police describe Rivera's chilling confession.

'Rivera admitted to making contact with the female running in Brooklyn and that he pursued her in his vehicle in an area east of Brooklyn. Defendant Rivera stated he parked the vehicle, got out and was running behind her and alongside of her.

'Rivera stated that she grabbed her phone and said: 'I'm gonna call the police.'

'Rivera said he then panicked and he got mad and that he 'blocked' his memory which is what he does when he gets very upset and doesn't remember anything after that until he came to at an intersection.

'Rivera stated he then made a u-turn, drove back to an entrance to a field and then drove into a driveway to a cornfield.

'He noticed there was an ear piece from headphones in his lap and that this is how he realized he put her in the trunk.

'He went to get her out of the trunk and he noticed blood on the side of her head.

'He described the female's clothing, what she was wearing including an ear phone or head phone set.

'He described that he dragged Tibbetts on foot from his vehicle to a secluded location in a cornfield.

'He put her over his shoulder and took her about 20 meters into the cornfield and he left her covered in some corn leaves and that he left her there, face up.

ADVERTISEMENT

'The Defendant was able to use his phone to determine the route he traveled from Brooklyn.