This memorial remembers victims so we can raise awareness that a loving and just society does not have to be a lawless one. We welcome all people but violations of our laws should not be ignored.
This is not an exhaustive list. Each entry briefly describes who the victim was and the circumstances of their death, based on public reports from DHS releases, court records, and contemporaneous news coverage.
Laken Riley (22, Georgia, 2024)
A nursing student who was jogging on the University of Georgia campus when she was beaten with a rock, assaulted, and killed.
Jocelyn Nungaray (12, Texas, 2024)
Abducted, assaulted, strangled, and left in a Houston creek beneath a bridge.
Aiden Clark (11, Lawrenceville, Ohio, 2023)
Killed when his school bus was struck by a vehicle; he was ejected and pronounced dead.
Rachel Morin (37, Maryland, 2023)
A mother of five abducted on a hiking trail, raped, murdered, and hidden in a culvert.
Kayla Hamilton (20, Maryland, 2022)
A young woman with autism who was bound, assaulted, and strangled in her home.
Dacara Thompson (19, Maryland, 2024)
Killed during a home invasion; her body was later thrown from a bridge.
Megan Bos (37, Illinois, 2025)
Found decapitated and concealed in a bleach-filled storage container after being reported missing.
Maria Pleitez (42) and Dayanara Pleitez (11, New Jersey, 2025)
Mother and daughter killed in a car crash caused by a reckless, intoxicated driver.
Luis Jocsan Nanez Lopez (15, Kentucky, 2025)
Shot and killed while defending his mother from an attempted sexual assault; his sister was also assaulted.
Santiago Lopez Morales (48, Texas, 2025)
Shot and killed during a violent motel crime spree involving armed robbery and sexual assault.
Ivory Smith (7, Texas, 2024)
A child killed in a crash caused by an intoxicated driver.
Mora Gerety (8, Boise, Idaho, November 11, 2025)
8-year-old girl killed when struck by a driver who had a federal deportation warrant but was protected by Oregon’s sanctuary policies and granted a driver’s license.
Alex “AJ” Wise Jr. (10, Texas, 2024)
Killed in a hit-and-run crash.
Taliyah Crochet (18) and Rylan Oncale (18, Louisiana, 2024)
Teenagers killed by a wrong-way intoxicated driver.
Kate Steinle (32, California, 2015)
Killed by a stray bullet while walking on a pier with her father.
Grant Ronnebeck (21, Arizona, 2015)
Convenience store clerk shot and killed during a robbery for a pack of cigarettes.
Tony (48), Michael (20), and Matthew Bologna (16), California, 2008
A father and his two sons shot and killed in a mistaken-identity road rage attack.
Deputy Danny Oliver (47, California, 2014)
Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed during a multi-county crime spree.
Deputy Michael Davis Jr. (43, California, 2014)
Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed in the same crime spree as Deputy Oliver.
Deputy Brian Moore (25, New York, 2015)
Police officer shot and killed while investigating a suspect.
Officer Sonny Kim (48, Ohio, 2015)
Police officer shot and killed responding to a man-with-a-gun call.
Sergeant Patrick Sontag (47, Indiana, 2014)
Police sergeant killed in a crash caused by an intoxicated driver.
Officer Daryl Pierson (32, New York, 2014)
Police officer shot and killed during a foot pursuit.
Officer Christopher Good (32, South Carolina, 2013)
Police officer killed in a car crash caused by a drunk driver.
Hailey King (18, United States November 6, 2016)
18-year-old killed when an undocumented driver struck her and another person on a scooter near an intersection, dragged her more than 250 feet on the hood of his pickup while speeding, then fled the scene. The other rider (Osmin Gutierrez) had both legs severed.
Katie Abraham (20, Urbana, Illinois, January 19, 2025)
College junior killed in a hit-and-run crash when the car she was a passenger in was rear-ended at nearly 80 mph by a drunk driver who fled the scene.
Chloe Polzin (21, Urbana, Illinois, January 19, 2025, Succumbed January 20, 2025)
Recent college graduate and competitive swimmer killed the day after sustaining fatal injuries in the same high-speed drunk-driving hit-and-run crash as Katie Abraham.
Hallie Helgeson (18, Dane County, Wisconsin, July 20, 2025)
Teen passenger killed at the scene in a head-on crash caused by a wrong-way intoxicated driver on Interstate 39/90; high school sweetheart returning from a concert with Brady Heiling.
Brady Heiling (19, Dane County, Wisconsin, July 25, 2025)
Teen driver fatally injured in the same wrong-way intoxicated head-on crash as Hallie Helgeson; airlifted and underwent multiple surgeries but succumbed to injuries five days later.
Amalia Coc Choc de Pec (36, Dover, Florida, April 24, 2024)
Mother beaten and stabbed to death in her home along with her 4-year-old daughter by her boyfriend, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who entered the U.S. in 2023 and was wanted for two murders in his home country.
Estrella Anastasia Pec Coc (4, Dover, Florida, April 24, 2024)
4-year-old girl beaten and stabbed to death in the bathtub of her home by her mother’s boyfriend, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who entered the U.S. in 2023 and was wanted for two murders in his home country.
Severely Injured Survivors
Carissa Aspens (22, Colorado, March 28, 2025)
Young woman left permanently disabled (wheelchair-bound, nonverbal, minimally conscious, and feeding-tube dependent) after being struck by an unlicensed, uninsured, illegal immigrant driver who fled the scene of the accident.
Osmin Gutierrez (18, United States November 6, 2016)
18-year-old had both legs severed killed when an undocumented driver struck him and Hailey King (18) on a scooter near an intersection, dragged Hailey more than 250 feet on the hood of his pickup while speeding, then fled the scene. Osmin was dragged/trapped under the truck for a significant distance. Hailey lost her life.
Context Note
These cases span 2008–2025 and are drawn from advocacy compilations, DHS releases, and contemporaneous reporting. They represent individual tragedies, not statistical conclusions.
