Exclusive | Angel families urge Republicans to pass big beautiful bill and secure border to prevent tragedies: There must be change

WASHINGTON — “Angel families” whose loved ones have been killed by illegal immigrants and gang members are urging congressional Republicans to pass President Trump’s “big beautiful bill” to seal the border and fast-track deportations, The Post can exclusively reveal.“We write to you not as politicians or pundits, but as parents — mothers and fathers who have buried our children because the United States government failed to secure its border,” they said in an open letter to Congress.“There can be no justice for our children, but there can be accountability.There can be action.

And there must be change,” they added.“We urge every member of Congress to support the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ and vote to secure the border, protect our communities, and prevent the next American family from living our nightmare.”More than 60 angel relatives co-signed the letter, including the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter was allegedly murdered by two illegal migrants, and the family of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was killed by a Tren de Aragua gang member from Venezuela.The bill, which Republicans are deliberating in the House, will provide $46.5 billion in funding for US-Mexico border wall construction, which could add up to 1,700 miles of fencing; hire 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers by 2030; and add as many as 100,000 more beds to detention facilities.It would also provide more than $2 billion in retention and hiring bonuses for Border Patrol agents, heighten vetting of unaccompanied minors for gang ties and speed up deportation proceedings to as high as 1 million removals per year.Deficit hawks like Rep.Chip Roy (R-Texas) are balking at the bill having “backloaded savings” and “front-loaded spending,” given the US’ $36 trillion debt, while moderate New York Republicans are griping about not getting higher than $30,000 in State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions.Those divisions h...