Angel Families

Last updated

Angel Families is a term used to describe families of victims killed by illegal immigrants in the United States. [1] Former President Donald Trump has invoked Angel Families to argue for his immigration policy, [2] [3] though some of the families have objected to the politicization of their loved one's death. [4]

Trump began to spotlight the issue during his 2016 presidential campaign, a tactic that some media organizations compared to candidate Hillary Clinton's campaigning alongside Mothers of the Movement (a group founded in the wake of the death of Trayvon Martin to raise awareness about racial profiling), but has been accused of using bereavement to promote racism. [5]

On June 22, 2018, Trump hosted an event at the White House for Angel Families during which 14 relatives held 11 photos of deceased relatives who had been killed by undocumented immigrants who were criminally in the country as illegal aliens. [6] Among those attending the event were Mary Ann Mendoza, mother of Sgt Brandon Mendoza; Laura Wilkerson, mother of Josh; Juan Piña, father of Christy Sue Piña; Steve Ronnebeck, father of Grant; and Michelle Root, mother of Sarah. [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green card</span> Lawful permanent residency in the United States

A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. Green card holders are formally known as lawful permanent residents (LPRs). As of 2019, there are an estimated 13.9 million green card holders, of whom 9.1 million are eligible to become United States citizens. Approximately 18,700 of them serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Anchor baby is a term used to refer to a child born to non-citizen parents in a country that has birthright citizenship which will therefore help the parents and other family members gain legal residency. In the U.S., the term is generally used as a derogatory reference to the supposed role of the child, who automatically qualifies as an American citizen under jus soli and the rights guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The term is also often used in the context of the debate over illegal immigration to the United States. A similar term, "passport baby", has been used in Canada for children born through so-called "maternity" or "birth tourism".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal immigration to the United States</span> Immigration to the United States in violation of US law

Foreign nationals (aliens) can violate US immigration laws by entering the United States unlawfully or lawfully entering but then remaining after the expiration of their visas, parole, or temporary protected status. Illegal immigration has been a matter of intense debate in the United States since the 1980s.

Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292 (1993), was a Supreme Court of the United States case that addressed the detention and release of unaccompanied minors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Kate Steinle</span> 2015 homicide in San Francisco

On July 1, 2015, 32-year-old Kathryn "Kate" Steinle was shot and killed while walking with her father and a friend along Pier 14 in the Embarcadero district of San Francisco. She was hit in the back by a single bullet. The man who fired the gun, José Inez García Zárate, said he had found it moments before, wrapped in cloth beneath a bench on which he was sitting, and that when he picked it up the weapon went off. The shot ricocheted off the concrete deck of the pier and struck the victim, who was about 90 feet (27m) away. Steinle died two hours later in a hospital as a result of her injuries.

In United States immigration enforcement, "catch and release" refers to a practice of releasing a migrant to the community while he or she awaits hearings in immigration court, as an alternative to holding them in immigration detention. The migrants whom U.S. immigration enforcement agencies have allowed to remain in the community pending immigrant hearings have been those deemed low risk, such as children, families, and those seeking asylum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration policy of Donald Trump</span> Policies regarding immigration of the Trump administration

Immigration policy, including illegal immigration to the United States, was a signature issue of former U.S. president Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and his proposed reforms and remarks about this issue generated much publicity. Trump has repeatedly said that illegal immigrants are criminals.

The Remembrance Project is an anti-illegal immigration American non-profit organization based in Houston, Texas. The Project maintains a list of American citizens killed by illegal immigrants in the United States and works to draw attention to the victims of such crimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Order 13768</span> Executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump

Executive Order 13768 titled Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States was signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 25, 2017. The order stated that "sanctuary jurisdictions" including sanctuary cities that refused to comply with immigration enforcement measures would not be "eligible to receive Federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes" by the U.S. Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement</span> American federal agency

The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office was a U.S. government agency established within the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration in February 2017. President Donald Trump directed it be established by Executive Order 13768. The office was dissolved by the Biden administration on June 11, 2021, replaced by the Victims Engagement and Services Line (VESL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Bracamontes</span> Convicted of murder, on death row in the U.S.

Luis Enrique Monroy Bracamontes is a convicted murderer who killed two police officers in Northern California. On October 24, 2014, Bracamontes opened fire on three Sacramento metropolitan area sheriff's deputies, killing two and wounding the third, while a civilian was also wounded in the shooting. Bracamontes is a citizen of Mexico and a convicted drug dealer who was in the United States illegally. Bracamontes was sentenced to death in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trump administration family separation policy</span> Policy intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation

The United States family separation policy under the Trump administration was presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation. In some cases, families following the legal procedure to apply for asylum at official border crossings were also separated. It was officially adopted across the entire US–Mexico border from April 2018 until June 2018. Under the policy, federal authorities separated children and infants from parents or guardians with whom they had entered the US. The adults were prosecuted and held in federal jails or deported, and the children were placed under the supervision of the US Department of Health and Human Services. More than 5,500 children, including infants, were removed and up to 2,000 still have not been reunited as of March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Mollie Tibbetts</span> 2018 murder in the US state of Iowa

On July 18, 2018, Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, disappeared while jogging near her home in Brooklyn, Iowa. A month later, police identified 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera as a suspect in connection with the disappearance; surveillance footage showed Rivera's car following Tibbetts on her jog. Rivera led police to the body of Tibbetts in a Poweshiek County cornfield on August 21. He was charged with first-degree murder. On May 28, 2021, Rivera was found guilty of first-degree murder. On August 30, 2021, Rivera was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin and Felipe Gómez Alonzo were Guatemalan immigrant children who died, in separate incidents, while in the custody of the United States Border Patrol in December 2018, after having entered the country, by crossing the border between Mexico and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Oval Office address</span> Speech by U.S. president Donald Trump

On January 8, 2019, the 17th day of a partial shutdown of the United States federal government, President Donald Trump delivered an address on illegal immigration from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. Major television networks broadcast the president's prime time speech as well as the Democratic response.

Ronil Singh was a Fijian-born American police officer who was shot and killed on the morning of December 26, 2018, in Newman, California, by a driver he had pulled over on suspicion of driving while drunk. Paulo Mendoza, a 31-year-old Mexican illegal immigrant, was arrested three days later. Prior to his arrest for the murder of Singh, Mendoza was found guilty of multiple offenses.

The issue of crimes committed by illegal immigrants to the United States is a topic that is often asserted and debated in politics and the media when discussing Immigration policy in the United States.

Brandon Mendoza was a Hispanic Mesa, Arizona, police officer who was killed in 2014 by an illegal immigrant driving drunk in the wrong lane. Later investigation found that the driver had a lengthy criminal history and was driving without a license. Mendoza was posthumously promoted, and a foundation was set up in his honor. His death became a part of the broader public debate regarding US immigration policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trump administration migrant detentions</span> 2019–2020 political controversy

The Trump administration has detained migrants attempting to enter the United States at the United States–Mexico border. Government reports from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General in May 2019 and July 2019 found that migrants had been detained under conditions that failed federal standards. These conditions have included prolonged detention, overcrowding, and poor hygiene and food standards. The beginning of the policy is falsely attributed to the Trump administration, beginning in the Presidency of Barack Obama.

References

  1. "Angel Families, conservative activists hold rally at San Ysidro POE". KFMB-TV CBS 8. December 14, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2019. Mary Anne Mendoza, a representative of the national Angel Families organization
  2. "Trump hosts victims of illegal aliens amid family separations row". BBC. June 23, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  3. Yee, Vivian (June 25, 2017). "For Grieving Parents, Trump Is 'Speaking for the Dead' on Immigration". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  4. Luke Nozicka (September 1, 2016). "Mollie Tibbetts' father says daughter would not want to be face of immigration debate". Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 15, 2019. Rob Tibbetts said his family was grateful to the politicians who heard his appeal and stopped using his daughter's death to promote agendas. But others did not, instead choosing to "callously distort and corrupt Mollie's tragic death," he said.
  5. Reinhard, Beth (June 6, 2016). "Trump Brings New Voices to Bitter Debate". The Wall Street Journal. ProQuest   2015471478.
  6. "Trump autographs photos of people killed by immigrants for 'Angel Families' event". The Hill. June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  7. "Remarks by President Trump and Members of the Angel Families on Immigration". whitehouse.gov . June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018 via National Archives.
  8. Vogel, Kenneth; Rogers, Katie (July 4, 2018). "For Trump and 'Angel Families,' a Mutually Beneficial Bond". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2019.