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The ceremony was not symbolic fluff. It was personal. Sixty two names were read aloud. Sixty two Americans who lost their lives in crimes committed by illegal aliens who, supporters of the measure argue, should never have been in the United States to begin with.
Among those present was NYPD Officer Ethan Curreri. He had arrested Ibarra months before the murder on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child. What he told the room was chilling in its simplicity.
“I personally arrested José Ibarra for endangering the welfare of a child,” Curreri said. “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 failed; no detainer, no accountability, no deportation, and an innocent American life was taken.”
That testimony landed like a thunderclap.
While mothers and fathers wiped away tears and clutched framed photographs, a different story was unfolding on cable news. CNN did not carry the ceremony live. According to the network, it was covering a major blizzard in the Northeast. There was, in fact, a blizzard. But there were also grieving families gathered in the White House whose stories did not make it onto the screen.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the network, calling CNN “a total disgrace.” Communications Director Steven Cheung described the blackout as “sickening and horrific.” When NBC correspondent Garrett Haake suggested the president was unfairly attacking the press, Leavitt shot back that networks refusing to cover Angel Families were proving his point.
At the center of the ceremony was not only remembrance but policy.
The Laken Riley Act, the first bill President Trump signed in his second term, mandates the detention of illegal aliens charged with crimes such as theft, burglary, assault on a law enforcement officer, or any offense causing death or serious bodily injury. Supporters argue the law closes loopholes that previously allowed dangerous individuals to be released back into communities.
According to administration officials, more than 21,400 illegal aliens have been arrested under the act’s authority in the year since it was signed. In December 2025, the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Angel’s Honor, a two week nationwide operation that resulted in 1,030 arrests. Officials say those taken into custody included rapists, child predators, armed robbers, and domestic abusers.
For families like the Rileys, the debate is not abstract.
They remember the moment Biden stumbled over their daughter’s name. They remember that he apologized for terminology rather than for the policy failures they believe enabled her killer to remain in the country. They remember that then Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declined to say her name when pressed about the case.
On Monday, Allyson Phillips addressed a room filled with parents who share a similar story. She spoke quietly but firmly.
“If you’ve lived that nightmare that we have lived,” she said, “you understand the importance of the job that he is doing.”
She was referring to the president standing behind her. She was also speaking to a country divided over immigration, enforcement, and accountability.
Whether cable news chose to air it or not, her words were spoken in the White House. And for the families in that room, that alone marked a turning point they say they had been waiting for since the day their loved ones were taken.
