Molly Tibbetts had disappeared in Iowa, and when she was found dead weeks later, it was a national tragedy. Soon after, it was released that her killer was an undocumented immigrant. In light of recent immigration policy controversy, Donald Trump Jr. and other politicians took this opportunity to push their political agenda. They wanted to use Molly Tibbetts’ death as an example of why America needs better border control.
However, this did not go over well with Molly Tibbetts’ father, Rob Tibbetts. Donald Trump Jr. wrote an article in the Des Moines Register expressing his views about immigration policy using Molly Tibbetts’ death as the example. He said that he was appalled by the Democrats’ reaction saying that they are not paying attention to the real issues in the immigration policies. This continued even after Molly Tibbetts’ family asked for her story to not be politicized. In response to this, Rob Tibbetts wrote an article in the same publication in which he pleaded that no on use his daughter’s tragic death as a way to push their anti-immigrant views as this is not what his daughter would have wanted. He was grateful for the politicians who decided to stop the promotion of their political agendas at his family’s expense but was saddened by those who chose to ignore his wishes. In addition, he wrote that Donald Trump Jr.’s message was racist and heartless. Molly Tibbetts’ family has been adamant on social media about not wanting her memory to be clouded by politics.
Molly Tibbetts’ death was shocking and devastating. Her family and loved ones should have the time to mourn her without politicians using her story to advance their agendas. Despite politics, Molly Tibbetts should be remembered in the way her family wants for her, not in the way that best fits the immigration agendas of people who never knew her.