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OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:52 PM – Monday, February 23, 2026
In a somber ceremony held in the White House East Room on Monday, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation officially designating February 22nd as “National Angel Family Day.”
The date was chosen to coincide with the second anniversary of the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an illegal alien in 2024.
At the time, Riley’s death quickly drew national attention, becoming a defining and emotionally charged case in the broader debate over immigration enforcement and border security.
“I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 22, 2026, as National Angel Family Day.”
The Sunday proclamation, which was announced on Monday, aims to honor “Angel Families” — those who have lost loved ones to crimes committed by individuals in the country illegally — and to draw attention to the administration’s hardline border security agenda.
“On National Angel Family Day, we remember and honor the thousands of American lives stolen from us by criminal illegal aliens and the deadly drugs they bring across our borders. We stand with the Angel Families, many of whom continue to be left without justice. And we recommit to carrying out the largest mass-deportation effort in our Nation’s history, getting the worst of the worst out of our country, and putting a stop to the violence targeting the brave men and women of law enforcement. Every year, thousands of American citizens are victimized by dangerous and criminal illegal aliens, often sent here by their home countries to get them out of their prisons or off their own streets. After returning to office, I received a letter from a New York City police officer that filled the First Lady and me with tremendous sadness and anger. He wrote to the White House about one of the most unconscionable of these derelictions in recent memory — the murder of Laken Riley,” the White House proclamation begins.
Surrounded by administration officials, law enforcement and dozens of family members carrying photos of deceased relatives, President Donald Trump described the victims as “great Americans” whose real stories had been “censored and suppressed” by previous Democrat administrations and the mainstream media.
“They were the victims of politicians who put the comfort of foreign criminals before the safety of American citizens,” Trump stated. “We’re done ignoring them.”
The ceremony featured moving testimonies from several prominent Angel Family members. Allyson Phillips, the mother of Laken Riley, offered a poignant thanks to President Trump for ensuring her daughter’s memory leads to lasting change. She was joined by Steve Ronnebeck, who spoke of his son Grant’s 2015 murder in Arizona, and Laura Wilkerson, who shared the harrowing story of her son Joshua’s death in 2010 — all committed by illegal aliens.
NYPD Officer Ethan Curreri, who personally arrested Jose Ibarra, Riley’s killer, after he was accused of “endangering the welfare of a child” in 2023, also made a poignant appearance at the event where he shifted focus from the individual crime to other broader systemic failures.
He argued that the 22-year-old jogger’s horrific death was a preventable tragedy caused by a breakdown in the criminal justice and immigration systems.
“I personally arrested Jose Ibarra for endangering the welfare of a child,” said NYPD officer Curreri. “A few months later, I saw his face again in the news after he viciously murdered Laken Riley. I did my job. I put him in custody. The system failed, no detainer, no accountability, no deportation, and an innocent American life was taken.”
The proclamation is more than a symbolic gesture, as it is intended to bolster the administration’s current legislative and executive pushes.
During his remarks, Trump linked the new day of remembrance to several key policy goals.
- Deportations: President Trump used the platform to reiterate his commitment to the “largest mass-deportation effort in our Nation’s history,” specifically targeting illegals with criminal records.
- Sanctuary city crackdown: He slammed local jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, noting that “reckless sanctuary policies” shield offenders from accountability.
- The Laken Riley Act: President Trump highlighted this legislation, the first he signed upon returning to office in 2025, which mandates the detention of illegal aliens charged with theft or shoplifting. Ibarra was charged with a theft-related crime before killing Laken Riley.
- Kate’s Law: President Trump called on Congress to pass Kate’s Law, which would impose mandatory minimum prison sentences on deported individuals who re-enter the country. If passed, the bill would increase federal penalties for immigrants who illegally re-enter the country after being deported, particularly those with prior criminal convictions. It was named after Kate Steinle, who was killed in 2015 by a deported felon in San Francisco.
While supporters hailed the move as a long-overdue recognition of preventable tragedies, critics argued the event was a calculated political move to justify aggressive immigration policies. Opponents pointed to various academic studies suggesting that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens.
Democrat leaders later offered condolences to the families but still criticized the proclamation, accusing the GOP administration of “politicizing grief” to promote a “narrative of fear” leading up to the State of the Union (SOTU) address.
The proclamation calls on Americans to observe the day with “appropriate ceremonies and activities” and urges citizens to assemble in places of worship to pay homage to the victims. President Trump is expected to further emphasize the stories of these “Angel Families” during his SOTU address on Tuesday night, where he has invited several of the families to attend as special guests of the First Lady, Melania Trump.
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