President Donald Trump attempted to change the conversation about 'family separation' on Friday to the American citizens who will never see their relatives again because they were murdered by illegal immigrants.

Sabine Durden, a face case of the White House event, recalled how an illegal immigrant from Guatemala killed her son, Dominic, in a July 2012 drunk driving incident.

Her son's killer had two previous DUIs on his record and was protected by a sanctuary city in Riverside, California, she said.

'I was gonna end my life. I had no purpose. But President Trump coming down that escalator that day and talking about illegal immigration stopped me in my track,' she said of Trump's 2015 campaign announcement. 'And I had no clue at that point, that I would ever be at the White House.'

Sabine Durden, a face case of the White House event, recalled how an illegal immigrant from Guatemala killed her son, Matthew, in a July 2012 drunk driving incident

She's holding an urn here that carries his ashes. 'I brought my son. This is what I have left, his ashes,' she said

Trump said he brought the families out because 'you hear the other side, you never hear this side, you don't know what's going on'

'They're not separated for a day or two days,' he said. 'They are permanently separated'

Durden thanked Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for making illegal immigrant crime a priority of their administration as she told the nation about 'permanent separation' that she blamed on localities' sanctuary city laws.

'I brought my son. This is what I have left, his ashes,' she said as she held up a palm-sized urn. 'I wear his ashes in a locket. This is how I get to hug my son,' she said of a necklace she had on.

She told attendees of the Friday afternoon event: 'So remember when you go home to hug your kids, that there are many of us, thousands of us, who don't get to do that anymore.'

She demanded of lawmakers, 'Let's work together and get this done.'

'All politicians, I don't care what side you're on,' she plead. 'You don't want your child in a casket or in an urn. So get it together, for God's sake, for our country's citizens.'

Both Durden and another 'Angel' Family member, Agnes Gibboney, said they immigrated to America legally.

Donald Trump rides an escalator to a press event to announce his candidacy for the U.S. presidency at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015 in New York City

Gibboney, who said she spent 13 years weeding through the paperwork, told attendees, 'I will fight for this country until my death.'

She held up a Trump-signed picture of her son, and the president responded in a lighter moment during the otherwise tense event, 'This is Tom Selek, except better looking.'

To Trump, Gibboney said in her remarks, 'You were the biggest birthday present I got.'

'And I'm still waiting for that shovel to help build the wall at the border, I live in California,' the 63-year-old said, making reference to an offer she made in 2017 to dig trenches. 'I am so proud and honored of you Mr. President. The integrity and honor you've shown us. '

Trump said he brought the families out because 'you hear the other side, you never hear this side, you don't know what's going on.'

'They're not separated for a day or two days,' he said. 'They are permanently separated.'

The president claimed, 'These are the families the media ignores. Very unfair. You have to look at that. This is a very unfair situation.'

He said they are stories that 'Democrats and other that are weak on immigration' like to ignore -- the 'death and destruction' caused by people 'who shouldn't be here.'

'There are really hardcore criminal aliens,' he warned.

She held up a Trump-signed picture of her son and the president said in a lighter moment during an otherwise tense event, 'This is Tom Selek, except better looking'

Family after family took the mic to praise the president and vice president for making illegal immigrant crime a priority of their administration

Also attending the event was Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen (L). She is seen greeting a family member listen after the 'Angel Families' event

Trump railed against America's laws as the 'weakest in the world, weakest in the history of the world' and against sanctuary cities that have become safe havens for gangs and criminal aliens.

He hit the mayor of San Diego, saying the Californian had warned everybody about an ICE raid.

He was referring to Libby Schaaf, the mayor of Oakland. The major of San Diego, Kevin Faulconer, is a Republican.

'And where is the outcry over MS-13 and it's blood thirty creed?' he asked, arguing that the Angel Family relatives who died were people who could have been very successful in life.

'Could have been right here. Standing here,' he said referring to the White House and the office of the presidency.

Laura Wilkerson told of how her 18-year-old son Josh Wilkerson died in 2010 after being tortured and beaten.

'Anytime we want to see or be close with our kids, we go to the cemetery,' she said. 'You guys know the permanent separation. It's the media who won't hear it.'

Michelle Wilson-Root said her daughter Sarah was murdered in 2016 by an illegal immigrant.

'Again, my separation is permanent. Sarah is never coming home. I will never get to take a selfie with her ever again,' she stated.

Family after family took the mic to praise the president and vice president for drawing attention to their plight.

They followed Trump's lead, with several slapping down the media for not taking a greater interest in their murdered relatives' cases.

Trump in his remarks once again claimed that the legal immigration system also needs to be changed because with the diversity visa lottery, countries 'put them in a draw' and pick out their 'worst ones' and send them to come live permanently in America.

In reality, prospective migrants put themselves forward for the lottery and are heavily vetted before they emigrate by the U.S. State Department.