A self-identified "lifelong Democrat" told Congress on Tuesday that she is "ashamed" of her party's handling of immigration issues following the deaths of her son and daughter-in-law in a car crash involving a truck driver who was in the U.S. illegally.
Elizabeth Carter testified that her son, William Micah Carter, and his newlywed wife, Jennifer Lower, were killed in late November when their vehicle collided with a jackknifed semi-truck. The truck driver, identified as Rajinder Kumar, was an undocumented immigrant who had been issued a driver's license by California, according to Carter.
The couple was on their way back from their wedding reception in Oregon when the crash occurred. "Sixteen days after they were married, Billy, Jenny and her cat Bert were killed," Carter told the committee. "They lost the Russian roulette game our government is forcing them to play."
During questioning by Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., Carter criticized Democratic stances on immigration enforcement. "We allowed 10 million people in under Biden. How is there a different suggestion as to how to process them, other than the same way they came into the country en masse, leaving?" she asked.
"I have to say, as a lifelong Democrat, I am ashamed of what my party is doing," Carter stated. Knott responded, "Well, they don’t care." He pressed further, asking Carter if enforcing laws to protect even one American family was a worthwhile endeavor, to which she agreed.
Knott observed that Democratic committee members present "are still defending it. Not one of them will say, if you're here illegally, get out."
Concerns over drivers in the U.S. illegally operating commercial vehicles have intensified following a series of fatal accidents. In response, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently launched a tipline for the public to report suspected commercial driver's license fraud. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that "too many American lives have been lost or permanently changed because illegal aliens who have no business being on our roads have been granted CDLs."
