Marie Vega, a South Texas mother and legal immigrant from Mexico, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on July 22, 2025. Vega recounted the 2014 murder of her son, Marine veteran and Border Patrol officer Javier "Harvey" Vega Jr., by illegal immigrants on their family’s property. (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary website and Texas General Land Office)
Her son and husband attempted to return fire. But in the attack, her son, Javier "Harvey" Vega Jr., a former Marine and Border Patrol officer, was killed. Her husband, meanwhile, suffers from permanent injuries from the incident.
Besides the death and physical injuries her family sustained, she said that she, her daughter-in-law and young grandchildren were left traumatized.
"Open borders have consequences," Vega said. "And you can see from what I have experienced because of the crimes committed by illegals, the pain lives with us for the rest of our lives."
Vega said she attempted to protect her grandchildren and watched helplessly as her son was shot in the chest.
Through tears, Vega asked, "Do you know what it is like to see your son go down after being shot? Do you know what it is like to hear the gunshots, bullets whizzing past you? Do you know what it's like when your mind is trying to process everything, telling your grandchildren to duck while thinking your son is on the ground with a bullet in his chest?
"Do you know what it's like to hear your son's last words to his father? ‘Keep shooting, Dad.’ Keep shooting were his last words," she asked, adding, "That should never have happened."
Border Patrol agents and National Guard members monitor a checkpoint near the Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, in this 2021 photo. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
She concluded that "had our immigration laws been enforced, our son would be here."
"Barack Obama failed me, my family and our community and our nation," she said.
Addressing the senators on the subcommittee, Vega said, "You took an oath to uphold the Constitution and work for we the people. That means working with your fellow politicians regardless of which side of the aisle you are on. You are supposed to work together, representing us, ensuring that those coming in are obeying our immigration laws. They need to be properly vetted, not only for their safety, but yours and ours."
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/grieving-mom-testifies-about-marine-vet-sons-death-hands-violent-illegal-aliens