By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2026-10-15 14:27:07 | Updated at 2026-10-16 09:40:03
1 day ago
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) invoked the killing of 21-year-old Sarah Root while criticizing Democrat Senate nominee Josh Turek’s immigration record during their Iowa Senate debate, before Turek called Hinson’s accusation that his official newsletter counseled readers on avoiding deportation and immigration enforcement “a lie.”
Hinson, the Republican Senate nominee, said Turek supports amnesty for illegal immigrants, noting that the Dignity Act would allow some people convicted of serious misdemeanors, including drunk driving, to remain in the country.
“I would say tell that to the mother of Sarah Root, Michelle Root, who lost her daughter to an illegal immigrant who killed Sarah Root because he was here illegally and he was driving drunk,” Hinson said.
“I think it’s also important to talk about the specifics of that legislation, which would have allowed up to 5,000 more illegal immigrants to cross across the southern border every single day,” she continued. “We needed to turn off that spigot of illegal immigration, and we did that. We’ve taken care of the problem, and my opponent doesn’t want to recognize that his votes would actually make our country less safe.”
Root was 21 when she was killed in Omaha, Nebraska, on January 31, 2016, the night she graduated from college with a 4.0 GPA. Honduran illegal alien Eswin Mejia, who had entered the United States illegally as an unaccompanied minor in 2013, was drunk and street racing at 71 mph when he rear-ended Root’s vehicle as she was nearly stopped. Mejia was arrested and charged but released after posting bond, and ICE did not file a detainer because his crimes were determined not to meet the agency’s enforcement priorities. He later fled to Honduras and remained outside the United States for more than eight years.
The Trump administration secured Mejia’s extradition from Honduras in 2025, and he was later convicted of vehicular homicide and flight to evade arrest and sentenced in February to 20 to 22 years in a Nebraska prison. Trump also signed Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) Sarah’s Law, requiring illegal aliens who commit violent crimes to remain detained in police custody.
“The man who murdered my daughter entered the country illegally. He came in as an unaccompanied minor, committed additional crimes, drove while intoxicated, smashed his truck into my daughter, and then ran away after posting a $5,000 bond,” Michelle Root told Congress in 2021. “His bail was less than what it cost to bury my baby.”
Michelle Root also addressed Turek’s immigration position in a message for Hinson’s campaign.
“My daughter was celebrating her graduation when an illegal immigrant killed her. A drag-racing drunk who never should have been here,” Root said. “But Josh Turek, he supports amnesty for criminal illegals, even those who drive drunk, commit violence, and worse.”
“My message for Josh Turek: I don’t have one,” she added. “He’s just not worth it.”
Earlier in the exchange, Turek shook his head and rolled his eyes as Hinson said his official legislative newsletter counseled immigrants on avoiding deportation and immigration enforcement, before denying her assertion.
“Well, I think this was the defining issue of the 2024 election. Iowans were tired of a wide open border that the Democrats in Congress and President Biden left us a huge mess,” Hinson said.
“Representative Turek went to the southern border to shoot a commercial, I’ve been to the southern border to hear directly from our agents who were dealing with the cartels and the human trafficking every single day,” she continued.
“So turns out we didn’t need legislation to fix the southern border. We just needed a new president and representatives who were willing to help make sure we actually were funding our CBP agents and our ICE agents.”
Hinson said she was “proud to have the endorsement of the border patrol agents” and maintained that fentanyl, dangerous drugs, and crime had declined because cartels were losing business.
“If you want the cartels to be back in business, vote for Josh Turek, who is allowing your taxpayer dollars to go to illegal immigrants and make it harder for our law enforcement to comply with immigration enforcement,” Hinson said.
“He even counseled in his official newsletter on how to avoid deportation and avoid immigration enforcement,” she added. “I think that’s wrong.”
Turek immediately rejected the accusation.
“That is a lie,” Turek said.
Breitbart News previously reported that Turek’s official legislative newsletter included a section titled “Know Your Rights as an Immigrant,” which directed readers to the American Civil Liberties Union’s “Immigrants’ Rights” guidance.
“Given the recent policy changes enacted by the Trump administration on both legal and illegal immigrants, I wanted to provide a thorough list of your rights and how they apply in different scenarios,” the newsletter stated. “The ACLU is a great resource that provides tips on what to do in various situations. Please click here to read more.”
Donald Trump Jr. shared the Breitbart News report the following day, writing, “Another fake Democrat ‘moderate’ exposed as a far-left open border radical!!!”
Turek has called for “an easier pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants, first using the phrase in April and repeating it in an August interview. He voted to restrict Iowa law enforcement from working with ICE to deport dangerous illegal immigrants and missed a March 2025 vote concerning verification of the citizenship status of Iowa voters. He was absent or not voting in March 2024 when the Iowa House considered legislation involving state residency and citizenship requirements for public assistance, along with human smuggling and related penalties.
Turek’s campaign has said he “opposes benefits for illegal immigrants,” though a legislative vote transcript showed him supporting taxpayer funding for initiatives relating to welfare for illegal immigrants earlier this year.
Hinson has also pointed to Turek’s call to repeal the Working Families Tax Cut Bill.
“My opponent Josh Turek wants to undo the entire Working Families Tax Cut Bill on day one. He has said it, and that would immediately mean all of those illegals who have been kicked off Medicaid would be back on it,” Hinson said. “He supports taxpayer benefits going to illegal immigrants.” Turek previously said during a Democrat primary debate, “We’ve got to overturn the big beautiful bill.”
Hinson called on Turek during the October 7th Senate debate to refund more than $20,000 in legislative per diem payments he collected after missing 261 Iowa House votes between January 12 and May 3, nearly 60 percent of the chamber’s votes during that period, telling him, “You took the per diem; you stole from taxpayers. You should refund that money.”
