The Iowa Democrat looking to unseat Rep. Rod Blum (R-IA) in the 1st Congressional District ignored the illegal alien status of the accused murderer of 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts, who lived in the district.

Abby Finkenauer, who won the Democrat primary to challenge Blum, released a statement after Tibbetts’ body was found in a cornfield in her rural hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa and her accused killer, 24-year-old illegal alien Christhian Bahena-Rivera was charged with first-degree murder.

In her statement, Finkenauer ignored the illegality of Bahena-Rivera’s immigration status:

Absolutely heartbroken over the Tibbetts family's unthinkable loss. Praying for strength and comfort for all who knew and loved Mollie. Thankful for our members of law enforcement who worked so diligently to bring a suspect into custody. — Abby Finkenauer (@Abby4Iowa) August 21, 2018

The illegal alien has been living in the U.S. for four to seven years. Bahena-Rivera worked at a farm — using a stolen ID to land the job — in the district after coming to the country illegally from Mexico.

Democrats have focused much of their campaigning in the 2018 midterm elections on abolishing all immigration enforcement by ending the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. In Iowa, the state banned sanctuary cities that harbored and protected criminal illegal aliens from being deported.

Bahena-Rivera had been living in a county that was surrounded by sanctuary cities, including Johnson County, Marion County, Jefferson County, and Benton County, Breitbart News reported.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.