Angel families whose loved ones were killed by undocumented immigrants praised ICE and criticized sanctuary policies during a press conference on the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement office. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons defended his agency's officers against activist smears. The event highlighted the office's reopening under President Trump.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons addressed a press conference on Thursday flanked by angel families, emphasizing ICE's commitment to justice for victims of crimes by undocumented immigrants. Lyons stated, “The families you see up here I’ve become really close with. They’re part of the ICE family, but when ICE officers and special agents are demonized, called Nazis, hated … We do it for these individuals, these families who are no longer with their loved ones because they didn’t get the justice they deserve. And that’s the main reason why ICE and our law enforcement partners are out there, so these Angel Families will finally get justice.” The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement office, or VOICE, provides resources to such victims and was established by President Trump in his first term before being shut down and repurposed by the Biden administration into a service for detainees to report abuse in ICE centers, according to CBS News. Trump reopened it in his second term, and more than 500 victims have since reached out, with roughly 55% of reported crimes involving assault, rape or sexual assault, and homicide or manslaughter, per the office's website. Jennifer Bos, whose daughter Megan was killed in April 2025 in a Chicago suburb by Mexican national Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, criticized Illinois sanctuary policies for releasing him after his court appearance on charges of abuse of a corpse, two counts of concealing a death, and obstructing justice. Bos said she fought bureaucracy to get him detained and credited public attention to the Trump administration for prompting ICE to take him into custody after three months free. “The tragedies like mine and the other families that are here could have been prevented and that knowledge creates an agony for us like no other. For me, it was further compounded when I had to fight bureaucracy and ideological sanctuary policies trying to get him detained to await trial,” Bos said. VOICE assisted her family by tracking the suspect and connecting them to support services. Agnes Gibboney, a legal immigrant from Hungary whose son Ronald Da Silva was killed in California in 2002 by a previously deported undocumented immigrant, told reporters, “I love ICE,” adding, “I love ice in my water. I love ice in my drink. I love ICE on the streets to protect us all.” The families praised ICE and Trump's mass deportation efforts.
