Nearly 20,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested this year under the Laken Riley Act, which was passed in honor of a Georgia nursing student killed by an illegal immigrant in February of 2024, after the Biden administration let millions of illegal immigrants pour across the southern border.
The law was the first that President Trump signed into law for his second presidential term. It requires that illegal immigrants who have been arrested, but haven't been convicted yet, must be held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention and processing. Previously, many of these individuals were released back into local communities under bail or supervision while awaiting trial.
The illegal immigrant who killed Laken Riley had previously been arrested by the New York Police Department for “acting in a manner to injure a child under 17”, but was released back into the community. Originally from Venezuela, he was a member of the newly designated foreign terrorist organization and drug cartel, Tren de Aragua.
Earlier this week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the conclusion of Operation Angel’s Honor, a 14-day nationwide initiative launched in memory of Laken Riley. According to a DHS press release, the operation resulted in the arrest of 1,030 criminal illegal immigrants.
DHS launched Operation Angel’s Honor in honor of Laken Riley, the woman murdered by a Venezuelan illegal alien and alleged member of Tren de Aragua. More than 17,500 illegal immigrants have been arrested for crimes under the Laken Riley Act.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 24, 2025
Under the leadership of @POTUS Trump… pic.twitter.com/kbABcLCH8h
"In honor of Laken Riley, ICE launched Operation Angel’s Honor — in the last 2 weeks alone arresting more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens under the authority of the Laken Riley Act," Noem said. "We can never bring Laken back, but we can do everything in our power to bring these heinous criminals to justice."
She credited President Trump for supporting the DHS in providing it with the resources and the ability to enforce American immigration law.
In a statement on Operation Angel’s Honor, Noem said:
In honor of Laken Riley, ICE launched Operation Angel’s Honor – in the last 2 weeks alone, arresting more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens under the authority of the Laken Riley Act. President Trump has empowered us to arrest and remove the millions of violent criminal illegal aliens unleashed on the United States by the previous administration. Now, these criminals will face justice and be removed from our country. We can never bring Laken back, but we can do everything in our power to bring these heinous criminals to justice. I am so proud of what our brave men and women of ICE have done to remove these criminals from America’s streets.
This comes shortly after the Trump administration announced that the $1,000 incentive for illegal immigrants to self-deport would be tripled through the end of the year, as a sort of Christmas present. The deportation efforts of President Trump have so far resulted in at least 600,000 deportations. An additional 1.9 million illegal immigrants have chosen to self-deport, making that program in particular extremely successful.
This is one of the many campaign promises the Trump administration has handily delivered, all within the first year of President Trump's second term.