Latest news with #RussellFry
Fox News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Evening Edition: New Bill Seeks To Strengthen Migrant Vetting Process
Kayla Hamilton was just a 20-year-old Maryland women when she was tied-up, sexually assaulted and strangled to death by 17-year-old illegal migrant Walter Javier Martinez. Martinez was in the U.S. claiming Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) status. A new bill, the 'Kayla Hamilton Act', introduced by Congressman Russell Fry (R-SC) would create stronger restrictions on how HHS assess illegal migrants who are minors by requiring HHS to contact the consulate or embassy of a UAC's home country to determine any criminal history or gang affiliation. FOX's Ryan Schmelz speaks with Congressman Russell Fry (R-SC), Representative for South Carolina's Seventh Congressional District, who tells us more about the 'Kayla Hamilton Act' and how it strengthens our migrant vetting process. Click Here To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Fox News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Mother of daughter murdered by MS-13 gang member speaks out in favor of new bill
FIRST ON FOX: The mother of a young girl who was murdered by an MS-13 gang member in 2022 is speaking out after Congressman Russell Fry, R-South Carolina, introduced a bill that could have saved her daughter's life. Kayla Hamilton was just 20 years old when she was sexually assaulted, tied up, and strangled to death by Walter Javier Martinez, a 17-year-old illegal migrant in the U.S. under Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) status who was sentenced to 70 years in prison this April. This week, Rep. Fry introduced the Kayla Hamilton Act, which would mandate the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to consider whether a UAC, an illegal immigrant under the age of 18, poses a danger to themselves or the community. "No one else should ever again have to suffer the way my daughter Kayla did," Tammy Nobles, Kayla's mother, told Fox News Digital. "The Biden-Harris Administration's policies prioritized the comfort of illegal aliens, like Kayla's murderer, over the safety of innocent Americans." "The Kayla Hamilton Act is necessary to ensure background checks of unaccompanied alien children occur before they are released. If that had happened in the case of Kayla's murderer, authorities would have known he was an MS-13 gang member." Currently, laws surrounding UACs who enter the U.S. illegally without a parent or legal guardian to provide care, require illegal minors to be sent to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under HHS rather than being immediately deported. Rep. Fry's bill would create tighter restrictions on how HHS should assess illegal migrants who are minors by requiring HHS to contact the consulate or embassy of a UAC's home country to determine any criminal history or gang affiliation, mandate screening for gang tattoos, and ensure UACs with known gang ties or tattoos must be housed in secure HHS facilities, not released into communities. "The Kayla Hamilton Act is a critical step toward restoring accountability and protecting American communities," Fry told Fox News Digital. "The tragic murder of Kayla Hamilton was entirely preventable—a failure by the Biden-Harris Administration to enforce basic vetting protocols." "As the House Judiciary Committee report revealed, Walter Javier Martinez had MS‑13 tattoos and a gang-related arrest in El Salvador long before HHS released him to a sponsor," Fry continued. "The Kayla Hamilton Act eliminates this reckless discretion and mandates that HHS conduct full background checks, evaluate gang indicators like tattoos, and house dangerous UACs in secure facilities." The bill is in line with the executive branch and President Donald Trump's movement to secure the U.S. border and hold dangerous illegal migrants accountable through deportations and criminal penalties. It is estimated the Trump administration has deported more than 250,000 illegal migrants, according to the Department of Homeland Security. "This legislation ensures that public safety will never again be an afterthought," Fry added. Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to and on X @MizellPreston
Telegraph
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Thunderstorms force pyjama-clad politicians to drive to Washington for Trump's bill
Pyjama-clad politicians are racing back to Washington DC on Wednesday morning to vote on the 'big, beautiful bill' after a night of thunderstorms caused travel chaos. Across the country, planes bound for Ronald Reagan National Airport were grounded on Tuesday evening, forcing lawmakers to travel from their districts by car to vote on Donald Trump's tax-and-spending bill after it narrowly passed through the Senate. South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace shared a pyjama-clad picture of herself and three others in a car on X, captioned: 'One Big Beautiful Girls Road Trip!' as she embarked on an eight-hour drive from her district to the capital. Fellow South Carolina Republican Russel Fry shared a video of himself in a car on X. ✈️ Flights are canceled all across the east coast because of the weather, but that's not going to stop me from getting to DC. This week we vote on the #onebigbeautifulbill but tonight I'll be having #OneBigBeautifulRoadtrip 🚙 to Washington. 🇺🇸 — Congressman Russell Fry (@RepRussellFry) July 1, 2025 Rep Fry went on to share updates to his followers throughout the night as he travelled through North Carolina and Virginia en route to the capital. Meanwhile, Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi told constituents he was making a 14-hour overnight drive from Chicago in order to vote against what he called 'Trump's Large Lousy Law'. 'We got some gas money, we got some snacks, and away we go,' he said on a video call, according to Politico. The Bill scraped through the Senate on Tuesday afternoon by the narrowest of margins, with JD Vance casting the decisive vote to break the 50-50 deadlock following a marathon session spanning more than 24 hours. Able to concede just three votes, Senate Majority leader John Thune eventually passed the bill after Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski was brought onside in return for concessions over whaling rights and energy. The bill is expected to hit the House floor on Tuesday night, where members will vote on any further amendments to the legislation, which proposes tax cuts, Medicaid restrictions and a big cash injection for border enforcement. If the House agrees to the bill with no further changes, it will go to Mr Trump's desk for the president to sign into law in time for his July 4 deadline. 'It's a great bill. There is something for everyone,' Mr Trump said at an event in Florida on Tuesday. 'And I think it's going to go very nicely in the House.' However, House speaker Mike Johnson's task may not be so straightforward. Republicans have struggled with the bill at nearly every stage and hold a narrow 220-212 House majority, allowing room for defectors. Mr Trump's bill also faces unified Democratic opposition in the House. Some GOP members are likely to recoil from being asked to rubber stamp the Senate bill less than 24 hours after its passage, having had little time to read or absorb the changes that were made. House Republicans from competitive districts have bristled at the Senate bill's cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their fiscal goals. As it stands, the bill offsets Mr Trump's proposed cuts with $1.2 trillion in savings, mainly targeting the Medicaid health insurance program. If it becomes law, it will strip coverage from an estimated 12 million low-income and disabled Americans. The bill also rolls back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits and proposes a $350 billion cash injection for border security to support Mr Trump's mass deportation programme. Following its passage through the Senate, the top four House GOP leaders said: 'The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay.'
New York Times
02-07-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
Lawmakers Hit the Road to Reach Washington for Vote on Trump Bill
Several members of Congress jumped into their cars and set off on hourslong road trips to make it to Washington by Wednesday ahead of an expected vote on President Trump's domestic policy bill, after severe weather snarled air travel. Thunderstorms and heavy rain had forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights to Washington-area airports, including Reagan National, according to the aviation tracker FlightAware. That left some members of the House, both yeas and nays on the bill, with no option but to drive. Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina and a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump, piled into a van with her staff for an overnight drive to Washington. 'The reason I'm on the road is because my flights were canceled to D.C. and I didn't want to take any chances,' Ms. Mace said, clad in pink pajamas, during a livestream on X from the van. As she held her dog, she asked viewers to send in recommendations for food stops on the way to Washington. Ms. Mace also responded to questions about the bill, which aims to cut taxes as well as social safety net programs. She said she had been disappointed with some of the amendments made in the Senate, which narrowly passed its version on Tuesday. Representative Russell Fry, another Republican from South Carolina, said he would not take any chances after flights were canceled because of the severe weather. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
03-06-2025
- Business
Trump's funding bill faces pushback from some Senate republicans
Republican Rep. Russell Fry from South Carolina joined ABC News to talk about President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill.'
