Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Jasmine Crockett Dismisses Illegal Immigrant Murder Victim As Just ‘Random Dead’ Person

Screenshot/YouTube/House Committee on the Judiciary

Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett dismissed Kayla Hamilton, who was murdered at the age of 20 by an illegal alien, as a “random dead” person during a Wednesday markup meeting.

Hamilton, who was autistic, was brutally murdered by El Salvadoran 16-year-old gang-affiliated illegal alien Walter Javier Martinez in July 2022 in Aberdeen, Maryland. During a House Judiciary Committee meeting that included a markup of the Kayla Hamilton Act, Crockett accused Republicans of playing politics with people like Hamilton.

WATCH:

🚨 DISGUSTING BEHAVIOR: Rep. Jasmine Crockett just called Kayla Hamilton, a young girl murdered by an illegal alien, a “random dead person.” pic.twitter.com/pSqBF0RAc5

— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) September 10, 2025

“I’m tired of y’all cherry-picking one horrible event! Because that’s what y’all do!” Crockett exclaimed. “Y’all find one terrible situation that took place and then you say that person’s name and you wear it out and you make it political!”

“[S]top playing these games and acting like you care about one particular situation. You take a situation and then you exploit what has happened to not only that person, but you exploit those families and you make it a game!” she added. “Stop just throwing a random dead person’s name on something for your own political expediency!”

Republican South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry introduced “Kayla Hamilton Act to Protect American Communities from Dangerous UAC [unaccompanied alien children] Placements” in July.

Border Patrol apprehended Martinez in March 2022. He was placed into the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and then released to a sponsor in the U.S. soon after.

The House Judiciary Committee in May 2023 published a report on how Martinez was allowed into the country.

“The Committee’s and Subcommittee’s oversight has revealed that the [former President Joe] Biden Administration insufficiently vetted Kayla’s murderer and allowed him to enter the country,” the report stated. “Tragically, [Homeland Security] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas and his department missed key warning signs about the alien’s propensity for violence, which law enforcement officials investigating the murder later uncovered.”

The Kayla Hamilton Act would require the HHS Secretary to weigh “whether the UAC poses a danger to themselves or the community when determining potential placements for them.”