Grieving dad says daughter’s death exposed cost of lax border enforcement

A 12 months after his daughter died in a crash in Urbana, Illinois, Joe Abraham confronted the human penalties of the state’s failed border and immigration insurance policies and demanded that Illinois lawmakers acknowledge her dying for the primary time.

As Operation Halfway Blitz, a Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) immigration enforcement operation concentrating on prison unlawful immigrants, was launched in honor of Katie Abraham’s dying, Abraham additionally warned unlawful immigrants to “do issues the best method.”

“In case you actually need to be a part of America and get in right here, you must do issues the best method,” says Abraham, who’s featured in a video for The American Border Story, a nationwide initiative exposing the human affect of America’s border disaster.

“There needs to be an orderly course of for folks to grasp learn how to behave right here,” he advised Fox Information Digital, earlier than describing the silence he skilled from state management, which additional compounded the ache of his loss.

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DHS launched “Operation Halfway Blitz” in honor of Katie Abraham, who died in a drunken automobile crash attributable to a prison unlawful alien in sanctuary Illinois. (Division of Homeland Safety)

“I obtained whole silence and indifference from my governor,” Abraham mentioned. “Katie was met with disrespect and silence.” Abraham mentioned neither Pritzker, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, nor his state or native representatives have contacted him since she was killed.

Abraham even recalled attending a 2025 Congressional Oversight Committee assembly, the place Pritzker and different sanctuary state governors had been testifying, when Katie’s case was introduced up.

“We had been sitting a number of toes away from him in Congress, and he did not spend two seconds – did not even look our method,” he mentioned. “From father to father, I anticipated him to care.”

“I needed him to say, ‘It is gotten out of hand. We’re engaged on it.’ I needed management and needed him to acknowledge Katie’s life. She was price 5 seconds of his time,” he added.

Katie died within the early morning hours of January 19, 2025, when police say an intoxicated unlawful alien struck the car she was driving in with buddies and fled the scene.

A second younger girl, Chloe Polzin, 21, of Deerfield, died from her accidents the following day.

“They had been standing at a visitors gentle in entrance of the hospital and had been hit from behind at a pace of just about 80 miles per hour by an unlawful immigrant who was driving below the affect,” Abraham mentioned.

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Joe Abraham criticized Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s dealing with of unlawful immigration. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photographs)

“[Katie] died on the spot… They needed to rip open that Honda Civic… like a tuna can to tug her lifeless physique out,” Abraham mentioned, earlier than describing his daughter as vibrant, pushed and stuffed with promise.

“Katie was a productive, gifted, lovely girl, so clever, so humorous, so witty. She had a method of drawing folks in and making them really feel seen.”

She cherished sports activities and the water, he mentioned, and had her entire life forward of her, however now won’t ever see her get married once more, and he mentioned he would “by no means stroll her down the aisle or see her kids.”

Abraham mentioned the driving force, Julio Cucul-Bol, is a Guatemalan nationwide and makes use of a Mexican alias.

Authorities mentioned Cucul-Bol had beforehand been deported from the US. He was arrested close to Dallas whereas on a bus headed to Matamoros, Mexico. Police mentioned he was discovered utilizing false Mexican identification below the identify Juan JaHaziel Saenz-Suarez.

Cucul-Bol was sentenced to 30 years in jail after accepting a plea deal for fees together with leaving the scene of an accident leading to dying, aggravated intoxication leading to dying and reckless murder.

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Operation Halfway Blitz was launched in honor of Katie Abraham. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Submit through Getty Photographs)

The Division of Justice (DOJ) had charged him with possession of a false Social Safety card, possession of a false everlasting resident card, making a false assertion on a banking utility, and false use of a passport.

“The issue was that when he entered the US, there was no background examine. There have been no well being checks,” Abraham mentioned. ‘He had HIV. That’s within the courtroom transcripts and courtroom paperwork.”

Cucul-Bol couldn’t learn or write and spoke neither English nor Spanish; in line with Abraham, he beforehand spoke a Mayan language. “He wasn’t working or being productive. This wasn’t his first try at drunk driving both,” he mentioned.

Abraham mentioned his criticism considerations weak insurance policies, which he hoped can be “rational insurance policies and a few widespread sense.” “If you are going to nullify federal regulation, you higher have a course of to fill that hole.”

Abraham known as for sensible insurance policies that defend victims and the broader public whereas supporting immigrants who come legally and with good intentions. He added that probably the most important progress thus far has been federal businesses like DHS and ICE stepping in to assist communities regardless of resistance from a number of quarters.

“ICE should take to the streets now as a result of Illinois won’t cooperate,” he mentioned. “You possibly can’t throw out the welcome mat for everybody, unchecked and unchecked, after which wash your arms of the results.”

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Abraham claims that neither his governor, senators — together with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Sick., pictured — nor his state and native representatives contacted him after his daughter’s dying. (Scott Olson/Getty Photographs)

Illinois and town of Chicago filed a lawsuit in opposition to the federal authorities over Operation Halfway Blitz, alleging that President Donald Trump’s administration violated Tenth Modification protections by way of what the lawsuit described as “illegal and violent” enforcement ways.

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“We are able to examine Pritzker to Donald Trump, who invited us to the White Home, who seemed me within the eye from father to father. He acknowledged Katie’s life and mentioned that issues have gotten out of hand, and that he’ll work to unravel the issue,” he added. “This previous 12 months with out my daughter has been probably the most brutal 12 months of my life.”