Trump proclaims National Angel Day

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

Several angel families gathered at the White House Monday as President Donald Trump proclaimed Feb. 22 National Angel Day – honoring Americans “victimized by dangerous criminal illegal aliens.”

Sunday marked the second anniversary of the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University. Riley was murdered while jogging by Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally. Ibarra was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Riley’s murder served as the inspiration for the Laken Riley Act, mandating federal detention of immigrants in the country illegally arrested for certain crimes, including theft and other serious crimes.

The president made remarks during the somber ceremony honoring the victims and their families, highlighting the immigration policies of former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“Everyone in this room not only suffered an infinite loss, they were the victims of politicians who put comfort of foreign criminals before the safety of American citizens and American patriots,” said Trump.

Among the handful of angel families invited to make remarks was Allyson Phillips, the mother of Riley.

Phillips warned that what happened to her family could happen to anyone, while thanking the president for his commitment to cracking down on immigration.

“There are just not enough words to say, because if you live 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, because this could be any family. This happened to my family. This could be any one of your families.”

In the proclamation, the president vowed to continue his administration’s commitment to cracking down on illegal immigration, especially tracking down the violent ones, citing the Laken Riley Act.

“I recommit to removing dangerous illegal alien criminals from our Nation to prevent such senseless tragedies from happening again,” according to the proclamation.

“As President, the first bill I signed into law was the Laken Riley Act. In Laken’s memory, this commonsense law mandates the detention and deportation of illegal alien criminals and allows States to sue the Federal Government when politicians fail to enforce immigration laws,” the proclamation continued.

The president went on to tout record-low illegal crossings at the southern border, while urging violence to cease against immigration officials.

“We must end the violence against the brave men and women of ICE and Border Patrol. The demonization of these heroes by radical politicians must stop, and the reckless sanctuary policies that shield criminal aliens must end once and for all,” said Trump.