(NewsNation) — Tammy Nobles, a grieving mother, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security following the rape and murder of her daughter by a suspected gang member who illegally entered the U.S.
“Nobody at the border did their job and checked his background,” Nobles said in an interview on “NewsNation Prime.”
Nobles asserted that if the federal government had properly screened the 17-year-old suspect, a known member of the notorious MS-13 gang, her daughter’s death could have been prevented.
20-year-old Kayla Hamilton, who had autism, was strangled with a phone cord in July 2022, just days after celebrating her birthday.
According to Nobles, a simple background check could have unveiled the suspect’s criminal ties and a single phone call to El Salvador would have confirmed his affiliation with the MS-13 gang.
The lapses in the border security system allowed the suspect to travel from Texas to Maryland, where he ended up in the same trailer as Hamilton, Nobles said.
“We’re bringing this lawsuit because we’re tired of being held hostage in our own country. We’re tired of DHS playing Russian roulette with our lives,” Brian Claypool, the family’s attorney said.
Claypool argued that DHS failed not only Hamilton but all Americans by neglecting to “follow their own protocol.” The attorney outlined how a gang-related tattoo visible during a routine check at the border should have barred the suspect from entering the country.
The lawsuit alleges that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) failed in multiple ways, including not verifying the suspect’s status with a phone call, neglecting to confirm a verified sponsor for him, and allowing him to be placed in a holding facility. Subsequently, the suspect ran away and ultimately ended up as Hamilton’s roommate in a trailer home.
“He ends up in this trailer home as a roommate with lovely Kayla, that was leased out by another illegal immigrant,” Claypool said.
Claypool emphasized the need for accountability and a commitment to change within the DHS and DHHS, asserting that the federal government has “blood on [their] hands.”
More than 300,000 migrants crossed the southern border in December.
U.S. authorities encountered nearly 140,000 unaccompanied minors at the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Almost 10,000 are still in the custody of the DHHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to its latest data.
Asylum-seekers must wait six months for work authorization. Processing takes no more than 1.5 months for 80% of applicants, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Nobles described her daughter as a sweet, loving, and happy person who approached life with trust and a positive outlook, emphasizing that her daughter had no inkling of the “evilness in the world.”
Nobles, grappling with the profound loss, credited her strength to divine support but acknowledged the excruciating pain, particularly during the upcoming trial scheduled for June 28.