Democrat Mother Calls Party 'Ashamed' After Son's Death in Crash Involving Undocumented Immigrant

A self-described lifelong Democrat is pleading with her party to reconsider its approach to immigration after her newlywed son and his wife were killed in a truck crash involving a driver who had entered the U.S. illegally.

Elizabeth Carter's son, William Micah "Billy" Carter, 25, and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Lower Carter, 24, died in November 2025 when their vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer that had jackknifed across U.S. Highway 20 in Oregon. The couple had been married for 16 days.

The driver of the truck, Indian national Rajinder Kumar, has been charged in connection with the crash and has pleaded not guilty. Federal immigration authorities stated that Kumar entered the U.S. illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, in November 2022 and was released by the Biden administration pending immigration proceedings. He later obtained work authorization and a commercial driver's license (CDL) issued in California.

"I was shocked and heartbroken to hear that the man responsible for our son and daughter-in-law's death... was a part of Biden's catch-and-release policy," Carter told "Hannity" on Thursday. "If it weren't for that, our son and daughter-in-law would still be alive."

Carter spoke on Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to enact changes to immigration policies. She expressed shame in her party's handling of the issue, stating, "I have to say, as a lifelong Democrat, I am ashamed of what my party is doing."

Her husband, Dennis Carter, a lifelong Republican, criticized the policies that allowed Kumar to obtain a CDL. "Just because someone is incompetent and can't do the job that they wanted to do, just because they got here, that doesn't mean, ‘Okay, they're here, we should give them a job that they can't do and just turn them loose on the road,’" he said.

Elizabeth Carter challenged the Democratic Party to "grow up" and improve communication with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the state level. She described the situation as the government forcing citizens to play "Russian roulette."

Dennis Carter noted that their differing political affiliations did not impede their relationship, highlighting that "the two parties can exist in the same household, and we actually get along."