Elizabeth Carter Urges Democrats to Change Immigration Policy After 2 Newlyweds Die in Oregon Crash

Q: Will a recent deportation order allow a driver facing manslaughter charges to escape trial for the deaths of two newlyweds?

Yes. The deportation order appears to have allowed Rajinder Kumar to avoid a Deschutes County trial, at least for now. Kumar, the truck driver charged after the November 2025 Oregon crash that killed newlyweds Billy Carter and Jennifer Lower Carter, was ordered removed to India by an immigration judge on July 1, 2026. He did not appeal by the July 31 deadline. By mid-September, he was no longer listed in DHS custody, and local reporting said he was likely deported. That matters because Oregon does not try felony defendants in absentia. Prosecutors have said that if Kumar is outside the United States, he cannot be brought to his scheduled court appearances and the manslaughter case cannot proceed in the normal way. Deschutes County prosecutors sought a bench warrant after he left Oregon custody, but they also acknowledged that deportation would put him out of reach of state authorities. So the practical answer is that the removal order likely prevented the criminal case from going to trial. The charges have not disappeared, and a warrant can remain active, but unless Kumar returns to U.S. jurisdiction or authorities secure his extradition, prosecution is effectively stalled. The victims’ families and local prosecutors had urged that the criminal case be resolved before any deportation. Their concern was that removal would deny a jury trial and accountability in Oregon. Based on the latest reporting, that concern appears to have been realized.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 18

Elizabeth Carter, a lifelong Democrat, said she is "ashamed" of her party's immigration stance after her 25-year-old son Billy and 24-year-old daughter-in-law Jenny were killed 16 days after their wedding.
Rajinder Kumar, the 18-wheeler driver charged in the November 2025 Oregon crash, entered the U.S. illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, in 2022 and was later released pending immigration proceedings, federal authorities said.
Carter told lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week and repeated on "Hannity" that Biden-era "catch-and-release" and state licensing policies helped put Kumar on the road with work authorization and a California CDL.
Dennis Carter, a lifelong Republican, also faulted the policies that allowed Kumar to drive commercially, while the couple framed their cross-party marriage as proof immigration criticism need not be partisan warfare.