When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached out to ask if they could honor my daughter Katie through “Operation Midway Blitz,” I had questions. I couldn’t agree to anything in my daughter’s name, sight unseen. But after speaking with DHS and understanding the goals of this operation – to enforce the laws that protect families like mine and amplify Katie’s tragic story – I was convinced that her death would not be in vain.
Katie was violently murdered on January 19, 2025, in a way no parent should ever suspect. She was a passenger in a car stopped at a red light when an illegal alien, driving drunk at nearly 80 miles per hour, crashed into the back of their vehicle. The driver, Julio Cucul-Bol, a Guatemalan citizen who was in the country illegally and using fake Mexican identification, stole from us a smart, loving young woman with her whole life ahead of her.
Adding to the horror of that night, after violently destroying the car and the lives within it, he fled the scene – without a thought for the people he had just maimed and murdered. He didn’t try to help. He didn’t call for help. He fled, selfishly and cowardly, leaving others to suffer the devastation he caused.
That is the true measure of the man who should never have been in our country to begin with.
DHS MARKS ‘ONE OF THE MOST GREAT DAYS’ OF OPERATION MIDWAY BLITZ WITH SEVERAL ARRESTS
DHS launched “Operation Midway Blitz” in honor of Katie Abraham, who died in a drunken car crash caused by a criminal illegal alien on the Illinois reservation. (Department of Homeland Security)
It seems painfully simple: If this man had not been allowed into our country against federal law, he would not be on that road, and my daughter would still be alive today. If Illinois had real leadership willing to prioritize public safety over politics — and if the state hadn’t doubled down on the sanctuary policy that protected this coward — perhaps Katie would still be with us.
For months I’ve been saying that it’s much easier to prevent chaos on the front end than it is to clean up tragedies like mine on the back end. An ounce of prevention always beats a pound of cure. I have continually challenged Illinois politicians to explain how they planned to balance public safety with their open borders and sanctuary policies. The silence has been deafening.
And I’ve asked repeatedly: What control or audit processes were ever put in place when Illinois politicians opened the back door to everyone? Who kept our communities safe? Who kept track of who came in, where they went, or how they were supported?
Outrage erupts after drunken illegal immigrant mows down Blue State couple – ‘HOW MUCH MORE?’
Instead of acting with compassion or foresight, Illinois leaders encouraged and even encouraged illegal immigration, sending a dangerous message that anyone could come here without consequences. That’s not compassion, that’s cruelty. It shows no respect for the safety of residents, and no empathy for the struggle, abuse and exploitation suffered by the very people who make this dangerous journey.
After Katie’s death, I met with dozens of DHS and ICE agents and support staff in Chicago. I also spoke with Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and we spoke at length about how open borders policies are tearing our communities apart. The contrast could not have been greater. I was struck by their professionalism, compassion and dedication. These men and women are not the villains that some politicians and activists portray them to be. They are Americans trying to do their job: restore order and balance after years of dangerous neglect. Each of the dozens of men and women I met were skilled, professional and deeply committed to keeping our communities safer.
I wonder if any of ICE’s critics have ever taken the time to sit across from one of these agents or staffers. If they did, I think they would see what I saw: dedicated Americans working tirelessly to make our communities safer.
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Illinois politicians have shown no such compassion. They ignored Katie’s story because to acknowledge it would be to admit the failures of their policies. It seems that their silence is not about sadness or guilt, but about political self-preservation. Maintaining high census numbers and seats in Congress seems to be more important than protecting innocent lives.
Instead of acting with compassion or foresight, Illinois leaders encouraged and even encouraged illegal immigration, sending a dangerous message that anyone could come here without consequences.
Katie lost her life to their cynical game of Russian roulette. And with her we lost everything she could have become: her future, her chance to get married, to have children. I will never walk her down the aisle. I will never hold her children. These are the real consequences of failed leadership.
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Our current politicians in Illinois should slink away in shame, never to hold public office again.
That’s why I support ‘Operation Midway Blitz’. Because it’s time to bring the buck back to our immigration system. It’s time to put the safety of Americans above political games. And it’s time to honor Katie – not just with words, but with actions.
