Mother of woman murdered by illegal alien says passage of key bill was critical

The mother of a 20-year-old girl tragically murdered by an illegal immigrant blasted Rep. Jasmine Crockett for calling her daughter a “accidental dead person” after the House of Representatives voted 225-201 Tuesday afternoon to pass the Kayla Hamilton Act on her daughter’s behalf.

Tammy Nobles, Hamilton’s mother, told Fox News Digital that she believed the Biden administration’s lax immigration policies were responsible for her daughter’s murder and pushed back against the rhetoric of Crockett’s comments that her daughter’s was being used as a GOP talking point.

“I’m really tired of Democratic officials saying the Republican Party is using Kayla’s story as a political stunt,” Nobles told Fox News Digital. “Everything about Kayla and the Kayla Hamilton law was what her mother wanted. I made it very clear at the beginning that I wanted a law in her name.”

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The House passed the Kayla Hamilton Act, legislation inspired by the killing of 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton, that would require federal authorities to assess whether unaccompanied migrant minors pose security risks. (Tammy Nobles)

“All the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services had to do was make one phone call to El Salvador,” Nobles added. “They would have known that Walter Javier Martinez was a member of the MS-13 gang and had a criminal record for illicit gang activity.”

Hamilton was raped, tied up, assaulted and strangled to death by 17-year-old illegal migrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Walter Javier Martinez, according to prosecutors. He was sentenced to 70 years in prison last April.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., would mandate the Secretary of the Department of Human Services (HHS) to determine whether UACs [unaccompanied alien children] pose threats to themselves or their community.

Tammy Nobles, whose daughter was killed by an illegal migrant, speaks during a Justice Department news conference where U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced new immigration enforcement lawsuits on February 12, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)

Crochet refers to Hamilton as an “accidentally deceased person” while the bill was being debated in the House Judiciary Committee in September. Crockett has since launched a bid for the U.S. Senate.

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“This comment was not only cruel, it revealed a deeper reluctance, shared by many Democrats, to recognize the real human cost of failed border and child placement policies,” Fry told Fox News Digital. “I was also dismayed by Democrats’ broader pushback against this bill, which puts politics and ideology ahead of basic public safety.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett but did not receive a response.

The bill now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be led in the upper chamber by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

“We owe it to Kayla and other victims of senseless tragedies to ensure comprehensive background and criminal record checks on unaccompanied alien children and their potential sponsors before they are placed, and I’m glad we are one step closer to ensuring that more thorough vetting is the law of the land,” Cornyn told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Democrat of Texas, was criticized for calling Kayla Hamilton a “random dead person.” (John Medina/Getty Images)

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Hamilton’s mother has spoken openly about her daughter’s death, joining President Donald Trump at campaign rallies and news conferences. She even testified on immigration policy before Congress.

Rep. Russell Fry, R-SC, shepherded the bill through the House. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

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“To prevent tragedies like this from happening again, the Kayla Hamilton Law will mandate background checks for unaccompanied minors and their sponsors, so no one is put in danger,” Nobles told Fox News Digital.

“No one else should ever have to suffer like my daughter Kayla,” Nobles added. “The Biden-Harris administration’s policies have prioritized the comfort of illegal aliens, like Kayla’s killer, over the safety of innocent Americans.”

Preston Mizell is a writer for Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston