In a tear-jerkingly beautiful display of compassion and humanity, the father of murdered University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts has stood up America's Hispanic community, who have been unfairly dragged into his daughter's murder.
The tragic killing of 20-year-old Ms Tibbetts has prompted undue criticism of the US immigration system because the man charged in her death is a Mexican farmworker.
But speaking Sunday afternoon to more than 1000 people at a ceremony at his daughter's former high school, Rob Tibbetts told mourners he's been embraced by the local Hispanic community.
![A ribbon for University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts hangs on a light post in Brooklyn, Iowa. Photo / AP](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/ENSWBA2ITZN4XJKQSAAJZWZS7Y.jpg?auth=b2090524c06e902782d2c296981d03b2e37edc89678e9f4d24ce24f0f4ac7b69&width=16&height=10&quality=70&smart=true)
Mr Tibbetts didn't directly respond to comments by President Donald Trump and others who quickly seized upon the suspect's citizenship to argue for changes in immigration laws, however, The Des Moines Register reports that the grieving father said he encountered Hispanics at Mexican restaurants and elsewhere who were sensitive and kind during the weeks he spent in the central Iowa community of Brooklyn to help search for his daughter.