President Donald Trump signed a proclamation declaring February 22 as "Angel Family Day." The proclamation honors families of victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants. The proclamation was signed a day after the anniversary of the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
"The human cost of the migrant crime crisis is written in the lives of Americans like Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Rachel Morin, who were brutally attacked and murdered by savage illegal aliens, and in the lives of Matthew Denice, Sarah Root, and Ivory Smith, killed by drunk-driving illegal aliens," the proclamation reads. "Each of these lives and countless others were stolen by criminal illegal aliens who should have never been in our country."
In Alabama, there are several high-profile death investigations involving illegal immigrant suspects. The cases are not resolved, and the suspects are awaiting trial and are considered innocent until proven guilty.
Jose Paulino Pascual Reyes was indicted in 2023 on 11 counts, including nine counts of capital murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse. Reyes is accused of killing Sandra Vazquez Ceja and her child, Omar Gallegos Vazquez. The two were found dismembered in a Dadeville trailer. Authorities believe Reyes killed the two during an abduction and sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. The girl, Ceja's daughter, was tied to a bedpost, drugged and raped for a week before escaping, court documents state. Reyes is facing the death penalty.
In Morgan County, Adelaido Jimenez Barrientos, an illegal alien, is charged with three counts of murder in a possible DUI fatal crash. Barrientos is accused of killing Tammy Martin.
In Mobile County, Honduran illegal immigrant Franklin Oriel Fajardo-Arana is charged with the death of a 16-year-old boy. Fajardo-Arana is charged with DUI manslaughter after authorities said he crashed into a vehicle in which the teen was a passenger. The boy was pronounced dead on the scene. Upon investigation, law enforcement discovered the suspect was wanted out of Kentucky for a separate DUI offense.
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said while the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) handles crash cases, his office is committed to public safety.
"On National Angel Family Day, I would like to recognize the families who have suffered an unimaginable loss and to reaffirm our commitment to public safety here in Mobile County," said Burch. "When any preventable crime, especially an impaired-driving tragedy, takes a life, the impact ripples through families, schools, and an entire community. We encourage prevention: if you suspect an impaired driver, call 911 immediately."
Also in Mobile County, authorities are currently searching for a missing family from the Theodore area. Aurelia Choc Cac, her 17-year-old daughter Niurka Zuleta Choc and her two-year-old son Anthony Garcia Choc disappeared from their Theodore home on January 31. Juan Carlos Argueta Guerra, an illegal alien, is charged with first-degree kidnapping, although there is no sign of the three victims. Guerra was previously placed in federal custody but was released due to Biden administration policies.
Trump said thousands of lives have been stolen by illegal aliens in the United States, by murder, deadly drugs and other criminal acts. That is why he said the administration is recommitting to carrying out the greatest mass-deportation effort in the nation's history.
The president declared a national emergency and deployed troopers to the Southern border, reinstated Remain in Mexico and designated cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Nationwide encounters are down 92%, and there have been zero releases along the southwest border in nine months. Trump's next goal is to pass Kate's Law - legislation that imposes stronger penalties on individuals who illegally re-enter the United States after being deported.
"These actions are how we will stop these tragic killings from happening time and time again," Trump stated. "A Nation without strong borders is not truly a Nation, and a people without justice can never be fully free. We renew our duty to uphold the rule of law, secure our borders, and deliver accountability for every American killed by illegal aliens and for every Angel Family forced to carry the unimaginable loss. We will never forget the victims, we stand with the families who endure this permanent hole in their lives, and we will never stop fighting to protect our people and our homeland."
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