The mother of a 20-year-old autistic girl murdered by an illegal migrant and MS-13 gang member joined Attorney General Pam Bondi in announcing a lawsuit against the state of New York and Gov. Kathy Hochul over an alleged failure to comply with federal law by shielding illegal immigrants.
Bondi, the newly-appointed U.S. attorney general serving under President Donald Trump, criticized the state of New York and its officials during a Wednesday press conference announcing the lawsuit.
“This is a new DOJ,” Bondi said. “We sued Illinois. New York did not listen; now you’re next.”
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The attorney general explained that the lawsuit is centered around the state’s Green Light Law, which she claimed prevents New York’s sheriff’s department and other agencies from sharing information about motor vehicle data with federal authorities if it’s related to immigration enforcement.
Under the law, illegal migrants can also apply for a driver’s license in New York, regardless of their immigration status.
“They have green light laws, meaning they’re giving a green light to any illegal alien in New York, where law enforcement officers cannot check their identity if they pull them over,” Bondi said.
“And law enforcement officers do not have access to their background. And if these great men and women pull over someone and don’t have access to their background, they have no idea who they’re dealing with, and it puts their lives on the line every single day,” the attorney general added.
“If you don’t comply with federal law, we will hold you accountable,” she promised, referencing the Justice Department’s lawsuit filed earlier this month in the Northern District of Illinois, which claimed that the state’s laws interfered with the federal government’s ability to carry out immigration enforcement.
“We did it to Illinois, strike one. Strike two is New York. And if you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next,” Bondi declared. “Get ready.”
New York’s Democratic governor responded to the lawsuit in a Wednesday statement, calling Bondi’s lawsuit “worthless” and “publicity-driven,” predicting that it will end in failure. Hochul declared that “New York is not backing down” in response to the lawsuit.
“Here are the facts: our current laws allow federal immigration officials to access any DMV database with a judicial warrant. That’s a common-sense approach that most New Yorkers support,” the New York governor stated.
“ But there’s no way I’m letting federal agents, or Elon Musk’s shadowy DOGE operation, get unfettered access to the personal data of any New Yorker in the DMV system like 16-year-old kids learning to drive and other vulnerable people.”
“New York is proud that immigrants from across the globe come here searching for a better life — people like my grandparents who left Ireland looking for the American dream,” the governor added.
“We welcome law-abiding individuals who want to work, pay taxes and contribute to our communities, while at the same time protecting the public safety of all New Yorkers by cracking down on violent criminals.”
During the news conference, The Trump-appointed U.S. attorney general invited Tammy Nobles of Maryland to speak, with Bondi noting that just “one angel mom is too many.” When it was her turn to speak, Nobles recounted the story of her daughter Kayla Hamilton’s murder.
“This should not have happened to Kayla, and it shouldn’t be happening to other families being hurt by the border,” the mother said.
“I am going to continue sharing Kayla’s story to help save others and to bring awareness of what was happening under the Biden-Harris administration,” the angel mom added.
Nobles testified before the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement in 2023 about her daughter’s murder. The mother eventually learned that the man who murdered her child entered the country illegally as a minor and was allowed to live with his aunt, who was also in the country illegally.
The migrant had problems living with his aunt in Frederick, Maryland, so he went to live with his half-brother in a trailer park located in the same area where Nobles’ daughter was living.
The suspect’s half-brother asked an illegal immigrant subletting trailers at a trailer park if she had any more rooms for rent, and she said that there was a room available in the same trailer as Kayla. Nobles’ daughter lived at the same trailer park with her boyfriend because she didn’t have much money.
“She was working at a cleaning company and at a grocery store,” Nobles said. “Kayla had autism, but she was determined to live independently and make her way in this world. And my baby paid the ultimate price.”
Only a few days after the migrant moved in, he entered Kayla’s room, strangled her with her iPod charger and sexually assaulted her. Kayla’s boyfriend returned home from work later that night and found the young woman dead on the floor, with the charger cord still wrapped tightly around her neck.
The murdered young woman’s mother has repeatedly contended that the U.S. government could have attempted to gain information from authorities in El Salvador about the suspect’s ties to MS-13. She believes that her daughter would still be alive today if the country had stronger border policies.
“I don’t want any other parent to live the nightmare that I am living. I am her voice now, and I am going to fight with everything I have to get her story told and bring awareness of the issue at the border,” the mother said during her 2023 testimony. “I will make sure her memory lives on.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
