'They're tying our hands': Mom of son, daughter-in-law killed by illegal pleads for Congress take action

Transportation Sec. Duffy: 'We won’t rest until these illegal drivers are off our roads'

By Ian M. Giatti, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, September 17, 2026

An Oregon mother shared the heartbreaking loss of her son and his newlywed bride to a commercial truck driver who was in the U.S. illegally with congressional lawmakers Tuesday. 

Elizabeth Carter, a resident of Springfield, Oregon, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement as it examined immigration policies in “sanctuary states” like California, Oregon and New York. 

Carter told lawmakers her son, William “Billy” Micah Carter, 25, and his wife, Jennifer “Jenny” Lynn Lower Carter, 24, were killed just 16 days after their wedding. 

After their marriage on Nov. 8, 2025, at a Portland temple, Carter told lawmakers that Billy and Jenny attended a second reception in Jenny’s hometown of Preston, Idaho. On the evening of Nov. 24, 2025, Carter said they were driving back toward Billy’s family home in Oregon when their Subaru struck a semi-truck that had jackknifed across both lanes of U.S. Highway 20 near Brothers, east of Bend. The couple and their cat died at the scene. 

According to Carter, the truck driver, who was later identified by Oregon State Police as Rajinder Kumar, a 32-year-old Indian national living in the U.S. illegally and who spoke no English yet obtained a commercial driver's license in California, failed to use warning lights, flares, or cones at the scene before the fatal crash. 

“He does not speak, read, or write English or Spanish, those are the only languages the test is given in California,” said Carter. "Since Mr. Kumar does not speak English, he has not spoken with the officers that arrested him about anything, really.” 

According to federal authorities, Kumar entered near Lukeville, Arizona, in November 2022 and was released pending immigration proceedings. He later received work authorization and a commercial driver’s license issued by California. 

Kumar was charged with manslaughter and other counts in connection with the crash. Kumar was released from Deschutes County jail on April 2 after posting a portion of his bond, and ICE arrested him 20 days later, on April 22, taking him into custody.

Carter, a homemaker and mother of four, told lawmakers the couple’s families, including Jenny’s parents, Thomas and Rebecca Lower of Preston, Idaho, have sought a criminal trial rather than immediate deportation so they can obtain answers about the crash. 

While Carter emphasized that her son and daughter-in-law disliked politics and that the loss has been deeply personal, she described herself as a “lifelong Democrat” who was “ashamed of what my party is doing” on illegal immigration.

“Sanctuary policies have ... divided my life into before and after,” Carter testified. 

In response to Carter’s testimony, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X: “My heart grieves for Elizabeth Carter, who lost her son, Billy, and his bride, Jenny, just 16 days after their wedding. They were killed when an unqualified illegal alien truck driver jackknifed his semi across an Oregon highway, blocking both lanes of traffic, and caused the deadly crash. California handed him a commercial driver’s license, and a mother paid the ultimate price. We won’t rest until these illegal drivers are off our roads.”

The hearing came amid a push from Republicans to advance H.R. 7640, the “Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act of 2026,” which would require greater state and local cooperation with federal immigration authorities and could withhold certain funding from jurisdictions that do not comply with ICE detainers.

In her testimony, Carter added, "I have also learned that in Oregon, if the prosecutor tries to coordinate with ICE, that could mean that the charges are immediately dropped. They're tying our hands. Our sanctuary laws are not protecting the American citizens that elected the officials. They're protecting people who don't have a right to vote yet.

"And I keep hearing how many people have been killed by ICE. Does anybody know how many people, how many American citizens have been killed by illegal immigrants that should not have been here in the first place if our federal laws were respected?" she asked. 

Carter explained that although immigration advocates keep repeating the mantra that the Trump administration should only be deporting illegal immigrants who already have a criminal record, "the worst of the worst," the man who killed her son and daughter-in-law also did not have a previous criminal record. 

"Mr. Kumar did not have a criminal record before Billy and Jenny were killed."