ICE hands Oregon truck driver to state jail for manslaughter trial

ICE returned a 32-year-old truck driver to Oregon state custody on Monday to face two counts of first-degree manslaughter.

Rajinder Kumar was arrested in Tacoma, Washington, in April after county officials ignored a federal hold. Federal agents are now pausing his deportation to let Oregon finish its criminal case.

Kumar is accused of killing William Micah Carter, 25, and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, in a crash on U.S. Highway 20 in November 2025.

The couple had been married for 16 days. Kumar allegedly jackknifed his tractor-trailer across both lanes of the highway. Their Subaru Outback struck the semi, killing both passengers at the scene.

A video released by the ICE Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement office shows Elizabeth Carter, William Carter’s mother, speaking to Kumar through the passenger window of an ICE vehicle. The meeting happened earlier this month as agents prepared to transfer him back to Oregon.

“Hello Mr. Kumar, my name is Elizabeth Carter; I'm William Micah Carter's mother,” Carter said in the video. She told Kumar she prays for him and his family and that she knows he did not plan to kill two newlyweds that morning.

Kumar entered the United States unlawfully near Lukeville, Arizona, on November 28, 2022. Border Patrol apprehended him but released him into the country pending removal proceedings. He later received a federal work authorization and a commercial driver’s license from California.

After a Deschutes County grand jury indicted Kumar, ICE lodged an immigration detainer. This is a request for the jail to notify federal agents before releasing him. County corrections officials declined to honor the detainer on April 2. They released Kumar into the community under Oregon’s state sanctuary policies.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Seattle agents arrested Kumar on April 22. He has been held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma while federal removal proceedings moved forward.

ICE ERO Seattle announced the return to state custody to ensure Kumar faces a local trial before any deportation orders are executed. Acting Field Office Director Julio Hernandez said, “Two Americans lost their lives, and their families deserve accountability.”

Hernandez added that the coordinated action protects the public and supports the victims' families. He stated that the move ensures an individual accused of these crimes does not evade justice.

Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed that federal deportation proceedings are paused while Oregon state prosecutors pursue the criminal charges. Kumar also faces three counts of recklessly endangering another person. His trial is pending in Deschutes County Circuit Court.