President Donald Trump held a ceremony on Monday with Angel Families to sign a Presidential Proclamation proclaiming February 22, 2026, as National Angel Family Day. Trump chose this date because it is the same date that 22-year-old Laken Riley, an Athens, Georgia nursing student, was murdered by an illegal alien. In 2018, Trump held a similar gathering during his first term, but this is the first time a proclamation has been signed establishing a Day of Remembrance specifically for Angel families.
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.
[...]
NOW, THEREFORE, 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. I call on the American people to assemble in their respective places of worship to pay homage to the victims killed by illegal aliens and to those taken by the fentanyl epidemic, and lift up the Angel Families and families devastated by drug overdoses. I further call upon public officials, community leaders, and all citizens to end the violence and lawlessness that have claimed so many innocent lives.
The Angel Families' proclamation ceremony began with the silent lighting of a candle of remembrance. Then opened with this gorgeously arranged rendition of the hymn, "Amazing Grace," sung by the U.S. Army Chorus.
WATCH:
The U.S. Army Chorus sings a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace in remembrance of these beautiful souls and in solidarity with these Angel Families ❤️ https://t.co/d80fAKDlqK pic.twitter.com/U1ivAXZsLR
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 23, 2026
In Trump's remarks, he called the Angel families some of "the most brave people."
Americans like Laken, and Grant, and Javier, and Joshua, Rocky, Rachel, Kayla — and we're never going to forget them. I'll never forget them. I don't know how long I'll be around. I got a lot of people gunning for me, don't I, huh? But I will not forget them, I'm never gonna forget them. And I just think you're among the most brave people. I meet a lot of brave people, I meet warriors, I give out Congressional Medals of Honor, where people recommend, like these two in front of me, are so wonderful, but they recommend, and I meet the greatest people. But this is a group of people that for whatever reason I just feel, maybe the warmest about. So, at least you have one friend, and we don't understand why you don't have many. And maybe you will.
WATCH:
.@POTUS honors Angel Families at the White House: "Americans like Laken, and Grant, and Javier, and Joshua, Rocky, Rachel, Kayla — these are great people, and I'll never forget them... I just think you're among the most brave people." ❤️ pic.twitter.com/E6lhMrM1Xi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 23, 2026
After his brief remarks, in which he related the stories of some of those who lost their lives to illegal aliens, Trump sat down at the Resolute Desk to sign the proclamation. Trump then invited the Angel families to tell more of their stories and what this proclamation day means to them. The harrowing tale from Angel Mom Marie Vega, mother of former U.S. Marine & Border Patrol Agent Javier Vega Jr., is a gut punch. Through tears, Vega said, "Thank God we have you in office. Without you, America and the world would not know the consequences of open borders."
WATCH:
Angel Mom Marie Vega, mother of former U.S. Marine & Border Patrol Agent Javier Vega, Jr., tells the story of her son's murder:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 23, 2026
"Thank God we have you in office. Without you, America, and the world, would not know the consequences of open borders." ❤️ pic.twitter.com/FMtLdtp76D
Angel Dad Steve Ronnebeck lost his 21-year-old son Grant in 2015 when he was shot by an illegal alien. His testimony reflects the consistent focus of the Trump campaigns and the Trump administration in combating the scourge of illegal immigration. Ronnebeck also reflected on how the prior administration "took their foot off the brakes and put their foot on the accelerator" to allow the influx of the worst of the worst into our country.
Ronnebeck remarked:
You know, I spent some time with President Trump in his first election. President Trump talked about Grant even before he was elected in 2016.
And finally, we had hope. We had hope that it was going to end.
I was just talking to Secretary Noem that we all sat around the table one day during one of our visits to Washington. And again, the word "preventable" came up. All these deaths at the hand of illegal immigrants are preventable. They could have been stopped, we could have done so much more and unfortunately, at the hands of an election that we questioned, somebody took their foot off the brakes and put their foot on the accelerator to let these people into our country. And it wasn't just regular people, it was criminals, it was murderers, killers, rapists. And now, now today, we are finally gonna see that someone is going to remember all of our loved ones. They're going to remember the names. And they're going to remember what we all have been through. Thank you, Mr. President.
WATCH:
Steve Ronnebeck, whose 21-year-old son, Grant, was shot and killed while working at an Arizona convenience store:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 23, 2026
"President Trump talked about Grant even before he was elected in 2016 — and finally, we had hope... Now, today, we are finally going to see that somebody's going to… pic.twitter.com/h79FaSoE5u
Palm Beach County, Florida, police officer and former New York Police Department Officer Ethan Curreri gave remarks from the perspective of law enforcement, and their frustration when the laws they swear to uphold are not upheld by prosecutors, judges, and politicians. When Curreri was with the NYPD, he arrested José Ibarra for endangering the welfare of a child. Curreri was shocked to see that months later, Ibarra had been released, traveled to Georgia, where he viciously attacked and murdered Laken Riley.
Curreri declared, "I did my job. I put him in custody. The system failed. No detainer, no accountability, no deportation, and an innocent life was taken."
WATCH:
Palm Beach County, FL Police Officer and Former NYPD Officer: "I personally arrested José Ibarra for endangering the welfare of a child. 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… pic.twitter.com/3N1aMivjfw
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 23, 2026
There were many more testimonials, including Allyson Phillips, Laken Riley's mother. They are well worth the watch.
Unfortunately, most of the legacy media once again decided not to cover this significant event. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called out CNN specifically for their urgency to cover anti-ICE protests and spread incorrect reports about Americans being detained by ICE, while ignoring coverage of the other side of the story, where American families are ripped apart because a loved one was murdered by an illegal alien.
.@CNN spends much of their time attacking the Trump Administration's strict immigration policies, but they will never air stories like this, which are the reason our strict enforcement policies are happening in the first place: https://t.co/A8LoFV05Ct
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 23, 2026
Assistant to the President and White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung called out both CNN and MS NOW for their media malpractice and willful ignorance.
Sickening and horrific that CNN and MSNOW are outright refusing to broadcast this powerful and moving event. It's like they don't care about victims and their families. https://t.co/Av5y70XSFu
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) February 23, 2026
Media Ignores or Denigrates President Trump's Event Honoring Angel Families
We've gone from a president who impatiently checked his watch in front of Angel families during a dignified transfer of the fallen service members from Abbey Gate to a president who vows to never forget the Angel families and their great loss and entreats all Americans to share in their grief.
Quite the contrast.
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