During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) told Angel Families who were present in the audience that he was “sorry,” but that Americans are more likely to be murdered by fellow Americans than illegal aliens.
“For the folks that are here and your families, I’m sorry. It’s terrible what happened to your children and family members, but they are more likely, American citizens are more likely to be attacked by United States citizens who are not undocumented who came here and who were born here,” Cohen told Angel Families. “[Americans] are more likely to commit these crimes.”
Several Angel Families, whose loved ones have been murdered by illegal aliens, sat behind Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kristi Noem as she faced the committee.
Following Cohen’s comments, officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responded, calling the statement “reprehensible.”
“Rep. Cohen pointing to Angel Families in the audience: ‘I’m sorry for what happened to your loved ones, BUT…’ There is no ‘but,’ Rep. Cohen. Your comments here are reprehensible,” ICE officials wrote on X.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (L) looks on as audience members hold pictures of loved ones who were lost to violence during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 04: An attendee holds up a sign that reads “Sanctuary policy set my daughters perpetrator free, explain that” as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. Noem is appearing before Congress for a second day as she faces questions on the department’s handling of immigration enforcement and the effects of its partial shutdown. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 04: Attendees hold up photos of loved ones affected by violence as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. Noem is appearing before Congress for a second day as she faces questions on the department’s handling of immigration enforcement and the effects of its partial shutdown. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Demonstrators hold signs during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. The stalemate over funding the Department of Homeland Security has left a pot of money for ongoing disaster response at risk of running dry, raising the stakes for talks to end the partial government shutdown. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
During a recent White House ceremony honoring Angel Families, Angel Dad Steve Ronnebeck told the establishment media in the room that every American death at the hands of an illegal alien is wholly preventable.
“All these deaths at the hands of illegal immigrants are preventable,” Ronnebeck said.
“They could’ve been stopped, we could’ve done so much more, unfortunately … [under President Joe Biden], somebody took their foot off the brakes and put their foot on the accelerator to let these people into our country, and it wasn’t just regular people; it was criminals, murderers, killers, rapists,” Ronnebeck said.
On January 22, 2015, Ronnebeck’s son Grant was working as a cashier at the QuickTrip convenience store in Mesa, Arizona, when illegal alien Sinaloa Cartel member Apolinar Altamirano walked up to the counter and demanded a pack of cigarettes.
When Grant told Altamirano he would have to pay for the cigarettes, the illegal alien shot him to death and then stepped over his lifeless body to grab the cigarettes from behind the counter.
At the time of the murder, Altamirano had been living in the United States for more than 20 years. Years later, in 2022, he pleaded guilty to murdering Grant and received fewer than 40 years in prison. He died last year in prison.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
