HOUSTON — Prosecutors in Texas announced Friday that they will seek the death penalty against two Venezuelan men who are accused of killing a 12-year-old Houston girl after they had entered the U.S. illegally.

The death of Jocelyn Nungaray was among several cases this year that became flashpoints in the debate over the nation’s immigration policies. Nungaray’s mother campaigned for President-elect Donald Trump, calling for better control of the border in the wake of her daughter’s death.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said her office would file an official court notice later Friday that prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26. Each man has been charged with capital murder for Nungaray’s June 16 death. They each remained jailed on $10 million bonds. “Jocelyn’s murder was as vile, brutal and senseless as any case in my tenure as district attorney,” Ogg said in a statement. “And it was made worse by knowing that these two men were here illegally.”

— The Associated Press