Mother of child killed by illegal immigrant reacts to SOTU: 'Did not say anything about the border crisis'
Tammy Nobles, who was Speaker Johnson's guest at the SOTU, joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss her reaction to Biden's speech and why she believes deaths could be prevented if the border was secure.
The mother of a Maryland woman allegedly raped and murdered by a MS-13 gang member slammed President Biden's State of the Union address after attending as House Speaker Mike Johnson's guest.
Johnson invited Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter Kayla Hamilton was killed in her mobile home in 2022, to the Thursday address where the president fielded boos over the border crisis and immigration policy.
Biden was also ridiculed after he appeared to slip up while speaking the name of slain Georgia student Laken Riley, appearing to refer to her as "Lincoln Riley."
"Lincon Riley – an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. But how many thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself. I understand," Biden said.
Nobles, who was heard shouting her daughter Kayla's name from the audience, was not satisfied with the president's response.
"It just seemed like this was a pep rally. He did not speak on immigration. He even mispronounced Laken's name. He did not say anything about the border crisis," she told "Fox & Friends First" Friday.
"Yes, there are thousands of people that are being killed and murdered by the border, and he just wrote it off like it didn't matter… trying to make a joke out of it. It's not a joke," she continued.
Nobles testified in the impeachment hearings of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, citing her daughter’s murder as a consequence of the crisis at the border. In 2023, police arrested an El Salvadoran 17-year-old who authorities said is linked to the MS-13 street gang and was released into the U.S. in 2022 into the custody of his aunt after being encountered at the border.
"I’m honored to be a guest of Speaker Mike Johnson at the State of the Union. I am so glad that my efforts to share Kayla's story and bring awareness to what is happening at the border are being recognized," Nobles said in a statement. "I will continue fighting and demanding accountability for what is happening at the border. I hope positive changes will occur in the future to save many lives. Something must change."
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants charged with local theft or burglary. The legislation comes after a migrant who was accused of similar offenses was arrested in the 22-year-old's murder on the University of Georgia campus.
"[Laken's] death could have been prevented. Kayla's death could have been prevented. Many other lives could have been prevented if the border was secured," Nobles said.
Fox News' Adam Shaw, Greg Norman, Aubrie Spady, Thomas Phippen, and Louis Casiano contributed to this report
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