WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced the Justice for Angel Families Act to allow federal funds to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and funeral costs for families whose loved one has been killed by an illegal immigrant. The bill would also codify the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), originally established by President Trump in 2017 and reopened last month by the Trump Administration after the Biden Administration shuttered it. The VOICE Office provides critical services like grief counseling and case follow-ups for victims’ families. This bill would ensure the VOICE Office can never be shut down again.
“Angel families deserve the same compensation as do angel victims. Perpetrators of crime should compensate the Angel family since the Angel victim can no longer be compensated,”said Dr. Cassidy.
“President Trump is righting the catastrophic wrongs of the Biden-Harris Administration by restoring law and order, securing our borders, and putting an end to the lawlessness that plagued our nation for too long,”said Senator Marshall. “But for countless Angel Families, the damage is permanent – their loved ones were taken from them because of disastrous open-border policies. I urge my colleagues to join Congressman Nehls and me in delivering justice and ensuring these families receive the resources and support they deserve by passing the Justice for Angel Families Act.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND).
“Under the Biden administration’s watch our country faced record levels of illegal immigration that resulted in innocent American lives lost,”said Senator Budd. “Our nation’s Angel Families have faced unimaginable tragedies because of Joe Biden’s senseless open-border policies. Now, we must stand with them – giving them the support and justice they deserve.”
“Families of victims murdered by illegal immigrants are forced to face unimaginable grief,”said Senator Cramer. “This bicameral bill supports Angel Families by ensuring they have the help and resources they need.”
U.S. Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX-22) introduced a companion version of this bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“President Trump and his administration are restoring law and order and standing up for American citizens,” said Representative Nehls. “Millions of illegal aliens flooded our country during the Biden Administration, and many of them took the lives of Americans, such as Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley, and Rachel Morin. By codifying the VOICE Office, which was reopened last month by Secretary Noem, no future president can close the office again, ensuring that families that fall victim to illegal alien crimes are supported, not left behind.”
The legislation is also supported by Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime, NumbersUSA, and National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE).
“As a nation, we spend hundreds of billions of dollars supporting illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country. Yet the victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens are left to fend for themselves at the worst times in their lives,”said Don Rosenberg, President and Treasurer of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime. “Financial compensation will never replace the loss of a loved one, but the “Justice for Angel Families Act” will at least reduce the financial burden faced by those families who have been betrayed by the failure of some in our government to uphold the rule of law.”
“It’s a shame that our past open border policies have made it necessary and needed to pass legislation to aid Angel families who suffered loss at the hands of illegal immigrants,”said Michael Hough, Director of Federal Government Relations at NumbersUSA. “This legislation will rightfully help those families who have lost their loved ones.”
“To support angel families – American citizens permanently separated from loved ones due to illegal alien crime – President Trump relaunched the Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement (VOICE) office,”said RJ Hauman, President of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE). “Now fully operational again, VOICE is assisting thousands of angel families, connecting them to vital services like grief counseling, tracking their cases, and ensuring criminal aliens responsible for their suffering are arrested, detained, and removed. This stands in stark contrast to the previous administration, which dismantled VOICE, opened our borders, and neglected angel families while policies led to more tragic losses. With Republicans now leading Congress, angel families are no longer ignored. Congressman Nehls and Senator Marshall are championing the Justice for Angel Families Act, reaffirming that their highest duty is to American citizens. This bill honors angel families, ensures their loved ones’ deaths were not in vain, and strengthens our nation’s safety and security. NICE urges everyone to support the Justice for Angel Families Act and calls on Congress to pass it after ICE receives critical resources via reconciliation.”
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