Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) has made a name for herself as one of the loudest voices in the Democratic Party, but not for reasons that help her cause. She seems determined to chase headlines, often with comments so reckless and ill-informed they end up embarrassing not just herself but her party.
This week was no exception. Crockett, already known for insisting that illegal entry into the country isn’t a crime, falsely claiming that FBI Director Kash Patel was “the only” director without FBI experience, and even saying law enforcement isn’t about preventing crime, went further. She tried to suggest that the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk was somehow tied to the MAGA movement because a relative once described the family as such. It was a stretch even by her standards.
But it was her remarks during a Judiciary Committee debate that truly crossed the line. As lawmakers discussed the Kayla Hamilton Act—named for the 20-year-old Maryland woman brutally murdered by an MS-13 gang member who entered the U.S. illegally—Crockett sneered at Republicans for putting the name of a “random dead person” on the bill.
That choice of words cut deeply. Kayla’s mother, Tammy Nobles, appeared on Fox & Friends First and made clear just how painful and insulting it was to hear her daughter spoken of that way. “I was really furious,” Nobles said. “You don’t call a victim of a crime a ‘random dead person.’ No victim should be referred to as a ‘random dead person.’” She described Kayla as someone who “lived each day to the fullest,” loved her church and her faith, cared for animals and the homeless, and “was just herself.”
For Nobles, hearing her daughter reduced to a political throwaway line was more than disrespectful—it was cruel. “She loved God,” the grieving mother said, reminding the country that her daughter was not some faceless statistic but a young woman “created in the image of God.”
Law enforcement officials who worked on Kayla’s case were equally outraged. Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler called Crockett’s dismissal of the victim indefensible. “Kayla was important. Her life mattered. And for Congresswoman Crockett to be so dismissive, so insensitive to a crime victim, any crime victim, it just speaks to the character of who we’re electing from some jurisdictions around this country,” he said. “‘Pathetic’ is the best word I have for it.”
This is about more than one offensive remark. It reflects a mindset inside the modern Democratic Party where concern for victims is too often overshadowed by politics and ideology. The Kayla Hamilton Act itself is a common-sense measure aimed at tightening the screening of unaccompanied migrant minors to catch gang affiliations before tragedies occur. Yet instead of recognizing the human cost of failing to act, Crockett trivialized the name of the young woman at the heart of it.
For many Americans, this moment underscores what is at stake. A government that refuses to secure its borders, shrugs off the consequences of illegal entry, and belittles victims when those consequences turn deadly is a government that has lost sight of its most basic duty: to protect its people. Kayla Hamilton’s life mattered. Her death should not be dismissed as political theater. And the elected officials who treat it that way reveal far more about themselves than they realize.