During his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump honored the lives of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray, both of whom were murdered by illegal immigrants during the Biden administration.
“All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken’s murders were members of the Venezuelan prison gang, the toughest gang, they say, in the world known as Tren De Aragua,” Trump said. “Two weeks ago, I officially designated this gang, along with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations.”
“They are now officially in the same category as ISIS, and that’s not good for them,” he continued. “Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the US by the Biden administration. But now, every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country. Or, if they’re too dangerous, put in jail, standing trial in this country, because we don’t want them to come back ever.”
Trump vowed that the US “will never, ever forget our beautiful Laken Riley,” referencing the Laken Riley Act, which he signed into law upon taking office. The law directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with crimes such as theft or assaulting a police officer.
Riley, 22, was found dead last year, murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, who entered the US illegally in 2022 and was granted parole under the Biden administration’s program. Before killing Riley, Ibarra had been arrested in New York City and charged with “acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.”
“Laken was viciously attacked, assaulted. Beaten, brutalized, and horrifically murdered. Laken was stolen from us by a savage illegal alien,” Trump said.
Trump noted that Ibarra was “arrested while trespassing across Biden’s open southern border,” and “set loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration” He added that Ibarra had been released in a sanctuary city.
Trump also honored 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was sexually assaulted and murdered by two illegal immigrants in June 2024.
“She was kidnapped, tied up, assaulted for two hours under a bridge, and horrifically murdered,” Trump said. “Arrested and charged with this heinous crime are two illegal alien monsters from Venezuela, released into America by the last administration through their ridiculous open border. The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly.”
