Testifying before Congress, Elizabeth Carter, who describes herself as a lifelong Democrat, said she was “ashamed” of her party’s approach to immigration after her son, William Micah Carter, died in a crash involving Rajinder Kumar, an undocumented truck driver who had been issued a commercial license in California.
William Carter, his newlywed wife, Jennifer Lower, and their cat, Bert, were killed in late November when their vehicle struck a jackknifed tractor-trailer driven by Kumar, according to testimony.
Carter said the couple was traveling home from their wedding reception in Lower’s hometown in Oregon when the collision occurred.
“Sixteen days after they were married, Billy, Jenny and her cat Bert were killed,” Carter testified. “They lost the Russian roulette game our government is forcing them to play.”
During questioning from Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., Carter assailed Democratic opposition to tougher immigration enforcement. “We allowed 10 million people in under Biden,” she said. “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?”
“I have to say, as a lifelong Democrat, I am ashamed of what my party is doing,” Carter added.
Knott replied, “Well, they don’t care.”
He then framed the issue as a broader national debate: “Is it worth enforcing our laws to protect just one American family?”
“One party says, ‘Absolutely, if we have to mass deport the problem that 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.”
Carter answered, “Absolutely.”
Gesturing toward the Democratic committee members, Knott said, “They are still defending it. Not one of them will say, if you’re here illegally, get out.”
Questions surrounding undocumented commercial drivers and licensing practices have drawn renewed attention after a series of fatal crashes involving immigrant truck drivers.
Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement introduced a tipline for Americans to report suspected commercial driver’s license fraud as the Trump administration intensifies its effort to remove unqualified truckers from the nation’s roads.
Announcing the tipline, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News Digital 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.”
“ICE and our federal partners, including the Department of Transportation, will be cracking down on CDL fraud so that not one more American life is lost to a reckless illegal alien behind the wheel of a semi-truck,” Mullin said.
