Tammy Nobles, whose daughter was murdered by an illegal immigrant, has pushed back against accusations of political exploitation from a Democratic lawmaker. Nobles argued that she is testifying to prevent similar tragedies and that her motivations are not partisan.
Tammy Nobles, whose daughter was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant, has hit back at a Democratic lawmaker who accused Republicans of "exploiting" victims' families by having them testify at a congressional hearing on the Biden-Harris border crisis.
"I have said it over and over, that we are not being forced there. Nobody is forcing us to be there. We want to be there," Nobles said on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday.
Angel Mom Defends Political Testimony, Criticizes Democratic Lawmaker
Nobles' autistic daughter Kayla Hamilton was raped and strangled to death by an MS-13 gang member in 2022. Nobles joined a panel of witnesses on Capitol Hill Tuesday to share heartbreaking testimony on illegal immigrant crime under the Biden-Harris administration.
The hearing turned tense when Texas Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar accused Republicans of playing politics with the House Judiciary Committee hearing.
Angel Mom Defends Political Testimony, Criticizes Democratic Lawmaker
"I think what is most frustrating to me as a member of Congress is what is happening today at this committee hearing, where we have colleagues who are exploiting people's pain for political purposes," Escobar said.
Her remarks were met with outrage from April Aguirre, a crime victims' advocate who also testified at the hearing.
Angel Mom Defends Political Testimony, Criticizes Democratic Lawmaker
"You said some very broad statements insulting these people, lost loved ones, they lost children, and we want to see a difference," Aguirre stated. "We may not understand everything that's going on, but I assure you that we're not being used in any way."
Nobles emphasized that her presence at the hearing was driven by a desire to prevent similar tragedies and not by political motives.
Angel Mom Defends Political Testimony, Criticizes Democratic Lawmaker
"I want to be there for my daughter. I'm not doing it for any political reason, it's for my daughter," she said.
Walter Martinez, a MS-13 gang member who illegally entered the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in 2022, pled guilty to Hamilton's murder and was sentenced to 70 years in jail in August.
Nobles pointed out that Martinez was a known gang member with a criminal record in El Salvador before being released into the U.S.
"It's just going to get worse if [Harris] gets elected. It is going to be a lot worse than it is now," Hamiton warned.
Alexis Nungaray, the mother of a 12-year-old Texas girl who was allegedly murdered by two illegal immigrants, also spoke at the hearing and slammed the Biden-Harris border policy.
"Because of the Biden-Harris administration open border policies, catch and release, [the suspects] were enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program," Nungaray told lawmakers. "This meant that they were released into the United States. It was not even a full three weeks later that they would take my daughter Jocelyn Nungaray’s life."
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News ahead of the hearing that the Biden-Harris administration "let in 10 million people in three and a half years, 99 on the terrorist watch list."
In her testimony, Nobles expressed frustration with the government's failure to address the issue of illegal immigrant crime and urged policymakers to take action.
"I want these guys stopped. I want my daughter's voice to be heard. I want other people's voices to be heard," she said.
The hearing highlighted the deep divisions over the Biden-Harris administration's border policies and the politicization of the issue. However, the testimonies of victims' families like Tammy Nobles and Alexis Nungaray served as a powerful reminder of the human cost of illegal immigration and the need for effective border security measures.
