President Donald Trump surrounded by Angel Families (Screenshot)

(CNSNews.com) - As the media continues to criticize President Donald Trump for his handling of illegal immigrant families, Trump honored families at the White House Friday who were “permanently separated” from their loved ones because they were killed by illegal aliens.



Trump said the media has ignored the stories of victims of criminal aliens.





“We're gathered today to hear directly from the American victims of illegal immigration. You know, you hear the other side. You never hear this side. You don't know what's going on,” the president said.



“These are the American citizens permanently separated from their loved ones -- the word ‘permanently’ being the word that you have to think about -- ‘permanently.’ They're not separated for a day or two days. These are permanently separated, because they were killed by criminal illegal aliens,” he said. “These are the families the media ignores. They don't talk about them. Very unfair.”



Trump said the Democrats and people who are weak on immigration don’t want to discuss their stories.



“They don't want to discuss. They don't want to hear. They don't want to see. They don't want to talk about. No major networks sent cameras to their homes or displayed the images of their incredible loved ones across the nightly news.They don't do that. They don't talk about the death and destruction caused by people that shouldn't be here, people that will continuously get into trouble and do bad things,” he said.



“For years, their pain was met with silence. Their plight was met with indifference, but no more. I told them three years ago when we were together, from day one -- just about day one I would say -- I said, ‘I hear you. I see you, and I will never let you down.’ And we've been working together, and their loved ones have not died in vain,” the president said.



“We call these brave Americans the Angel Families -- Angel moms, Angel pops. These are the Angel Families. Your loss will not have been in vain. We will secure our borders, and we will make sure that they're properly taken care of eventually. The word will get out. We've got to have a safe country. We're going to have a safe country, and your loved ones are going to be playing and will continue to play a big part in it,” Trump pledged.