Elizabeth Carter, a lifelong Democrat, said she feels “ashamed” of her party after her son, his bride and their cat died in an Oregon crash involving a truck driver whom the Department of Homeland Security says was in the United States illegally.
Carter gave an emotional account Tuesday in Washington, DC, while testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement.
With photographs of her son Billy Carter and daughter-in-law Jenny Lower beside her, she described the devastating loss of the newlyweds, who had been married for only 16 days when they died last November.
Billy, Jenny and their cat, Bert, were driving home from a wedding reception in Jenny’s Oregon hometown when their car hit a jackknifed tractor-trailer. The truck was being driven by Rajinder Kumar.
Kumar, 32, is an Indian national who was unlawfully present in the US, according to an April 2026 Department of Homeland Security press release. He had been issued a Commercial Driver’s License in California.
During her testimony, Carter criticized Democrats who oppose tougher 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,” the grieving mother said.
Elizabeth Carter gave an emotional statement Tuesday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement in Washington, DC.
Billy Carter, his new wife Jenny Lower and their cat Bert died in an Oregon car crash last November, just 16 days after the couple’s wedding.
Rep. Brad Knott, a Republican from North Carolina, responded, “Well, they don’t care,” before challenging Carter further.
“This is the question for the community to consider: is it worth enforcing our laws to protect just one American family?” Knott asked.
“One party says, ‘Absolutely, if we have to mass deport the problem they built, so be it.’”
Knott continued: “If it protects one family from having to suffer like you’ve suffered, I think that is a worthwhile endeavor.”
“Absolutely,” Carter replied.
She also told lawmakers that her family had “lost the Russian roulette game our government is forcing them to play.”
Knott then pointed directly to where Democrat committee members sit, and said: ‘They are still defending it. Not one of them will say, if you’re here illegally, get out.’
Kumar was taken into custody on April 11 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers after ‘Oregon sanctuary politicians refused to cooperate’ with the agency and released him back onto the streets on April 2, DHS said.
The couple’s vehicle slammed into a jackknifed big rig, or out-of-control tractor-trailer, driven by Rajinder Kumar, of India. He entered the US illegally in 2022
‘This illegal alien was issued a CDL by Gavin Newsom’s California. He then went on to recklessly drive a truck on America’s highways and KILL two honeymooners. Instead of cooperating with ICE law enforcement, Oregon sanctuary politicians RELEASED him from jail back into American communities,’ Lauren Bis, a spokeswoman for ICE, said.
Kumar entered America illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, on November 28, 2022, while former President Joe Biden was in office.
‘Gavin Newsom’s California gave him a commercial driver’s license, and the Biden administration gave him a work authorization,’ the agency said.
Prosecutors charged him with first-degree manslaughter over the fatal crash. Kumar is currently being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, where he faces removal proceedings.
At the time of the fatal crash, Dennis Carter, Elizabeth’s husband, told The Oregonian about his son and daughter-in-law’s marriage.
‘There’s never been a happier marriage on the planet. They never had to spend one minute apart,’ Dennis recalled.
Bill was born in Phoenix, Arizona, before moving with his family to Springfield, Oregon, his loved ones told the outlet.
One of his brothers suggested that he join him in a scavenger hunt organized by young adults at their church, and that is where he met Jennifer.
Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC) stood by Carter as she delivered her emotional appeal
The couple started dating in May 2025, and by August, Bill got on one knee and asked Jennifer to be his wife.
Bill and Jennifer married on November 8 at a temple in Portland.
‘Billy and Jenny were just lit up. They were smiling ear to ear,’ Tom Lower, Jennifer’s father, recalled.
A funeral was held for the couple on December 8.
