Heroes and villains of illegal immigration on display at Senate ‘Dreamer’ hearing

On one end of the Senate dais Wednesday was Mitchell Soto-Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant “Dreamer” who came to the U.S. at age 9, put herself through college and was sworn in this year as a police officer despite not having legal status.

Three seats away sat Tammy Nobles, the mother of Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old autistic woman who was slain in 2022 by a man who authorities said came to the U.S. illegally, had ties to MS-13 in El Salvador, and was caught and released under President Biden’s more relaxed approach to border enforcement.

Democrats said the immigration debate should be defined by the optimism of cases like Officer Soto-Rodriguez’s. Republicans said that’s impossible with cases like Hamilton’s.

Officer Soto-Rodriguez made her plea to lawmakers, saying she and other Dreamers have earned their place in America.

“For many of us, the country that we come from is just in our memories. The only country we know is here, where we stay,” she told the Judiciary Committee. “We’re not asking for handouts; we’re asking for recognition of our humanity and our contributions.”

She said her mother brought her from Mexico to join her father in the U.S. She said she had to navigate hurdles, including when her family slept in a car because her father couldn’t find a job.

She decided on police work her sophomore year of high school after meeting a helpful officer responding to a car crash in which she, her mother and her sister were involved. College was a struggle, she said. She earned her associate degree while working two jobs but had to drop her plans for a more advanced degree to support her family.

She eventually completed a bachelor’s degree and went to work for her high school. She was also involved with the Blue Island Police Department in Illinois. When the chief asked why she wasn’t an officer, she said her status as an illegal immigrant Dreamer under the Obama-era DACA program meant she could hold some jobs, but not in police work. She went through the academy after Blue Island changed its policy and was sworn in earlier this year.

Ms. Nobles told the committee the brutal details of her daughter’s slaying: the iPhone charging cord used to strangle her, the call she made to her boyfriend that went to voicemail, recording 2½ minutes of her death struggle, and her boyfriend finding her body with the cord wrapped so tightly around her neck that he had to use his teeth to loosen it.

The person accused of the slaying came to the U.S. from El Salvador as a juvenile. Under government policies, he was quickly turned over to social workers and placed with a sponsor in Maryland. Ms. Nobles said the boy had behavioral issues and left that home to live with his half brother but ultimately ended up in the same trailer park community as Hamilton.

Ms. Nobles said authorities could have learned about his MS-13 ties with a phone call to El Salvador or by checking his body for tattoos.

“Not all are innocent children and seeking the American dream. Some are criminals and are here to destroy American lives,” she said.

In front of Ms. Nobles was a photo of her daughter in a pink and white frame.

Officer Soto-Rodriguez testified in her police uniform.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said the fate of Dreamers like Officer Soto-Rodriguez shouldn’t be held hostage to the border chaos.

“I cannot imagine how we can hold these young people accountable for what you’re concerned with,” he told Republicans.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said a legalization now would encourage even more illegal immigration. Even if lawmakers legalize only those who have been in the U.S. for years, he said, that leaves hundreds of thousands of children who have arrived since Mr. Biden took office, including the person accused of killing Hamilton.

Mr. Graham wondered whether that population also would have to be legalized.

“Is there any end?” he said. “If that’s the model to get to be a citizen, it’s never going to stop. I don’t mind dealing with the Dream Act population, but I don’t want to incentivize endless waves of illegal immigration.”

After Officer Soto-Rodriguez told her story, Mr. Durbin turned to Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports stricter immigration controls, and asked whether the country would be better off if the officer were to be deported.

“No, I don’t,” Ms. Vaughan replied.

Mr. Graham then turned to Ms. Nobles and asked whether the country would be better off had the illegal immigrant accused of slaying her daughter been prevented from entering.

“Kayla would have been better off,” Ms. Nobles said.