Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) has introduced the Kayla Hamilton Act, a proposed piece of legislation aimed at bolstering border security and preventing the reintegration of dangerous individuals into American society. This bill follows the tragic murder of Kayla Hamilton by Walter Javier Martinez, a 17-year-old MS-13 gang member who was sentenced to 70 years in prison this April. Martinez was found guilty of sexually assaulting, tying up, and strangling Kayla, a 20-year-old woman, who died in 2022. Fry and other lawmakers argue that the current system for handling Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) is failing to protect American communities from potential threats. The Kayla Hamilton Act would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct thorough background checks on all UACs before releasing them into the community. These checks would include contacting the consulate or embassy of the child’s home country to investigate any criminal history or gang affiliations. The bill also mandates screening for gang-related tattoos and ensures that UACs with known gang ties are housed in secure HHS facilities rather than being released into the community. Fry emphasized that the failure to properly vet such individuals led to the murder of Kayla Hamilton. He stated, “The Kayla Hamilton Act is a critical step toward restoring accountability and protecting American communities. This tragic murder was entirely preventable due to a failure by the Biden-Harris Administration to enforce basic vetting protocols.” Fry’s legislation aligns with the broader national debate on immigration policy, particularly the push to secure the U.S. border and hold illegal migrants accountable. The Trump administration’s record of deporting over 250,000 illegal migrants, according to the Department of Homeland Security, underscores the ongoing tension between different approaches to immigration enforcement and border control.