WASHINGTON — In the East Room of the White House on Monday, President Trump told families whose relatives were killed by undocumented immigrants that their loved ones would still be alive if the Biden administration had not allowed “open borders” after the 2020 “rigged” election.
“If that election was not rigged, every single one of the people in this room right now would not be here,” Trump said.
Although Trump frequently disputes the validity of the election he lost, the allegations have been repeatedly disproven by experts and even Republican election officials. Yet, Trump’s audience applauded after every mention of the 2020 election.
Trump held the ceremony to designate February 22 as National Angel Family Day to honor the people killed by undocumented immigrants. Amid persistent political pressure on ICE and a partial shutdown, the signing provided an emotional anchor for his immigration policies before tonight’s State of the Union address.
During the ceremony, the president reaffirmed his support of ICE’s operations and commitment to his deportation goals, praising Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and White House Border Czar Tom Homan, both of whom were in attendance along with scores of family members.
These families expressed gratitude for Trump and his administration’s crackdown on immigration when he called a few family representatives up to share a few words.
Allyson Phillips spoke about her daughter, Laken Riley, who was a student at the University of Georgia when she was killed by an undocumented immigrant in 2024 during a morning run. In her speech, Phillips said Trump delivered on his promise from two years ago to honor Riley before he was reelected.
“You have fought a fight that most people wouldn’t have to fight,” Phillips said, turning to Trump. “There are just not enough words to say, because if you’ve lived the nightmare that we have lived you understand the importance of the job he is doing.”
Jody Jones, whose brother, Rocky Jones, was killed in California in 2018, criticized Democrats’ defense of undocumented immigrants amid the ICE crackdown. His brother’s killer had been deported twice and committed several crimes over the course of two days before the murder.
“I’m sick and tired of hearing these Democratic politicians stand upon these podiums and say how sorry they are for seeing these criminal illegal aliens being ripped apart from their families,” Jones said. “What about the American family? What about us? We mean something too.”
Jones planned to appear as one of President Trump’s guests at the State of the Union address.
Democrats ardently oppose Trump’s deportation goals and tactics and have called for restraints on ICE following the death of two protestors in Minneapolis earlier this year.
The president also accused the media of failing to adequately cover the victims, whose deaths occurred over a stretch of several years.
“Our media totally ignored them, and I’ve seen it,” he said, gesturing to the press gathered at the event. “They got up and spoke, and the media turned off the cameras.”
Trump interrupted himself while talking about his immigration reform to ask one of the family members in the audience if she was doing alright. He announced that he had paid for a cataract operation for Patty Morin, mother of Rachel Morin, who was killed by an illegal immigrant in Maryland in 2023. Patty Morin said that the operation was scheduled for later this week.
“I gave her money to get her eyes fixed,” the president said. “The doctor ripped me off, but that’s okay.”
All throughout, Trump criticized sanctuary cities and Democratic lawmakers, including the mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, for defending undocumented immigrants. He refuted calls to reform ICE’s operations following concerns of violence in Minnesota and across the country, which have led to a partial government shutdown.
“We will do everything in our power to end these flawed sanctuary cities once and for all,” Trump said. “[Democrats] protect criminals with a vengeance. They fight for these criminals like murderers that are protecting murderers.”
As he signed the proclamation, Trump invited the victims’ family members to gather around him.
The ceremony concluded with a candle lighting and a rendition by an Army choir of “Amazing Grace.”