WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump focused on immigration with "angel families," those who lost loved ones to violence perpetrated by undocumented immigrants.
"You never hear this side," Trump said. "These are the American citizens permanently separated from their loved ones."
Laura Wilkerson lost her 18-year-old son, Josh Wilkerson, in 2010 when he was tortured and beaten to death by an illegal immigrant.
"His last hours were brutal," Wilkerson recalled. "None of our kids had a minute to say goodbye... I'll see him again in heaven."
Ray Tranchant's 16-year-old daughter, Tessa, lost her life in 2007 after she was hit by a drunk driver.
"He was three times the legal limit," said Tranchant. "It was an explosion. Neighbors thought a bomb went off."
Tranchant added that the driver was in the country illegally, had a fake driver's license and was previously arrested for DUI.
"We'll not rest until our border is secure, our citizens are safe and we end this immigration crisis once and for all," Trump said. "Your loved ones have not died in vain."
The White House cited a 2011 Government Accountability Office report which found nearly 3 million offenses tied to criminal aliens.
The report adds that in Texas, "more than 250,000 criminal aliens have been arrested and charged with over 600,000 criminal offenses within the last seven years."
The Trump administration created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE), which aims to support the "victims and families affected by illegal alien crime."
Trump stated that 2,800 victims have already registered to receive information on their perpetrators.
Trump's remarks come after he signed an executive order ending the practice of separating families at the border.
Nevertheless, the commander in chief says his administration will still pursue a "zero-tolerance" policy on migrants entering the country illegally.
Meanwhile, in California, some angel families have formed the grass-roots organization Fight Sanctuary State. The group is working to urge state and local authorities to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agents instead of protecting illegal immigrants, The Washington Times reports.
"If we don't kill this in California, it will spread," the paper quoted Drew Rosenberg, who lost his son. "It's a death sentence for American law-abiding citizens."
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