I’ve never wanted to write something like this again – especially not so quickly.
On January 19, 2025, my family fell apart. My daughter was taken from us in an act of violence that, in my opinion, should never have happened. In the days and months that followed, I made a decision that no grieving parent should ever have to make: to speak out publicly again and again about what I believed were systemic failures that cost my daughter her life.
I’ve talked to legislators. I sat for interviews on national television. I wrote and spoke wherever I had the chance—not because I wanted attention, but because I deeply believed that what happened to my daughter was not an isolated tragedy. It was a warning.
GOVERNMENT PRITZKER IGNORED MY LETTER – AFTER HIS SANCTION POLICY KILLED MY DAUGHTER
I then said that if nothing changed, it would happen again.
And now, just over a year later, another family is living that nightmare at the hands of Illinois shelters’ policies.
Katie Abraham was killed on January 19, 2025, when the vehicle she was driving was struck from behind by an illegal, drunk driver. (Joe Abraham)
An 18-year-old student – someone who was just starting his life – has been murdered. And once again the circumstances raise the same painful questions about policy, enforcement and accountability. Once again we are confronted with the possibility that this tragedy, like the one in which my daughter was kidnapped, could have been prevented.
AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MURDERED MY DAUGHTER – LEFT MARCH FOR RENEE, NOT FOR KATIE
There is no justification in this. Just heartbreak – again.
I don’t pretend to have all the solutions. But I know this: ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. Dismissing these tragedies as isolated incidents will not prevent the next one.
When I first started speaking, some people listened. Others told me that what happened to my daughter was rare—that it should not determine broader policy, that the system, while imperfect, worked as intended.
But how many times does something have to happen before we stop calling it rare?
GRIEVING FATHER SAYS DEATH OF DAUGHTER BY ILLEGAL ALIEN SHOWS COSTS OF SANCTION POLICY
What we are seeing now is no coincidence. It is the result of policies that, no matter how well-intentioned, create real gaps – gaps where individuals who should be identified, detained or removed are not. Gaps that enable avoidable tragedies.
This is not about blaming entire communities. It’s not about fear or division. It’s about responsibility. What matters is whether we are willing to acknowledge that government policies have real-world consequences – and that when those policies fail, people pay with their lives.
DHS launched Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham, who died in a drunken car crash caused by a criminal illegal alien in the reservation state of Illinois. (Department of Homeland Security)
I’ve spent the past year trying to turn unimaginable grief into something that could protect others. I’ve met policy makers. I’ve shared my daughter’s story more times than I can count. I have pushed for changes that I believe could prevent another family from going through what mine endured.
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And yet here we are.
Another young life lost. Another family is changed forever. Once again a moment when we are forced to ask questions that should already have answers.
How many warnings are needed?
How many families have to suffer before we are willing to face the reality that something is broken?
I don’t pretend to have all the solutions. But I know this: ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. Dismissing these tragedies as isolated incidents will not prevent the next one.
At least it guarantees it.
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To the family experiencing this now: my heart is with you. I know the shock, the anger, the unbearable sadness. I know the questions that keep you awake at night. And I am so deeply sorry that the warnings came too late to spare you.
We owe it to them – and every family – to do better.
CLICK HERE TO JOE ABRAHAM
