The president welcomed the families of individuals killed by illegal immigrants to a White House ceremony.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump issued a proclamation at the White House on Monday, establishing Feb. 22 as National Angel Family Day to honor Americans killed by illegal immigrants.
“We’re gathered here today for a truly solemn occasion,” Trump said while welcoming hundreds of family members to the East Room ceremony. “These are the Angel families that we love, that for decades our government betrayed, and our media totally ignored.”
The day was chosen in remembrance of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22, 2024.
“Laken was viciously attacked, brutally beaten, and murdered by an illegal alien gang member who the last administration heartlessly released into our country,” Trump said. “The story is even more tragic because her death was completely preventable.”
He highlighted policy failures that allowed Ibarra to avoid deportation and be released after he was arrested in August 2023 by New York police officer Ethan Carrerri.
Carrerri told those gathered at the White House that he detained Ibarra for endangering the welfare of a child.
“I did my job. I put him in custody,” Carrerri said. “The system failed. No detainer, no accountability, no deportation, and an innocent American life was taken.”
The president signed the Laken Riley Act in January 2025, shortly after his second term began. It requires the federal government to detain illegal immigrants arrested for various criminal offenses.
Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, brimmed with emotions as she remembered her daughter and thanked the president.
“If you’ve lived the nightmare that we have lived, you understand the importance of the job that he’s doing and securing our nation and fighting for our families,“ Phillips said, referring to the president. ”Because this could be any family.”
Steve Ronnebeck, whose 21-year-old son Grant was killed by an illegal immigrant in 2015 while working at a convenience store in Mesa, Arizona, spoke about the importance of the national day of remembrance.
“We are finally going to see that somebody’s going to remember all of our loved ones,” he said. “They’re going to remember the names, and they’re going to remember what we’ve all been through.”
