Trump signs proclamation designating Feb. 22 ‘National Angel Family Day’

Laken Riley's mother, Allyson Phillips, alongside President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon hosted families of victims who were killed by illegal immigrants at the White House for a special ceremony designating Feb. 22 "National Angel Family Day." Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student was brutally beaten and murdered by an illegal immigrant while out jogging on her college campus in Georgia. on Feb. 22, 2024. Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant was later convicted of her murder and is serving life in prison. 

The day was chosen to honor the memory of Riley, a victim whose fate became emblematic of the Biden administration's open border policies at the time, and a catalyst that swept Trump back into office.

In his remarks just before signing the proclamation, Trump said it was something "that I've been waiting to sign for a long time, including my first administration. There were so many legal roadblocks -- it was incredible, but we got it done."

Allyson Phillips, Laken Riley's mother, thanked Trump for continuing to honor her daughter's memory and fighting to have "National Angel Family Day" formally recognized.

“You have said from the beginning, literally the day after this happened, that you would not forget about Laken. You weren’t president at that time, and you have not forgotten,” Phillips said. “You have fought a fight that most people would not want to have to fight.”

Phillips was not the only family member of a victim killed by an illegal to speak at the event. Jody Jones, whose brother James "Rocky" Jones was killed in 2018 by an illegal immigrant in California praised Trump's efforts to secure the U.S. border and begin the process of deporting other illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

"Americans are not racists," Jones said in his remarks, pushing back against left-wing criticism of the president delivering on one of his key campaign promises. "We’re not xenophobic because we want a safe America." Watch more of Jones' remarks below.