The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has drawn attention to an opinion piece by Joe Abraham, whose daughter Katie Abraham was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run incident involving an undocumented immigrant in Illinois.
In September, DHS launched Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham. The initiative aims to address the presence of criminal undocumented immigrants in Chicago and Illinois, a situation that officials say has been enabled by state sanctuary policies.
According to DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol have arrested more than 3,000 undocumented immigrants as part of the operation. Those detained include individuals charged with serious crimes such as rape, murder, and gang activity.
Joe Abraham wrote in the Chicago Tribune about his daughter's life and the circumstances surrounding her death. "My late daughter Katie touched many lives, each in their own way. She had friends from every walk of life. She was kind, empathetic, and endlessly curious. She made people feel seen and valued. Then her life was stolen by a criminal illegal alien," Abraham stated.
He continued: "That’s why I have supported and continue to support the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, the mission launched in her honor. Contrary to some of the criticism about it, this mission is not political. It is moral. It is to prevent what happened to Katie from happening to anyone else. This will be only a small part of Katie’s legacy, but I’m proud to honor the beauty of her through this mission."
Abraham also criticized local immigration policies: "It would be unjust and unreasonable to separate my family’s loss from the policies that failed us. We did everything right. We worked hard, obeyed the law, paid our taxes, and trusted that government would protect us in return. That trust was broken. Our leaders — from the governor’s office on down — have treated immigration as a numbers game, not as a matter of public safety or national security. Governor Pritzker is filling Illinois’ census rolls with unvetted illegal aliens simply to preserve congressional seats and get more federal funding. Katie paid for his scheme with her life."
He concluded: "Operation Midway Blitz, at its heart, is about restoring that balance. It seeks an immigration system that is both humane and secure. That’s what Katie would have wanted: a country that keeps its promises, a state that safeguards its citizens, and leaders who put their people first.
Her death cannot be in vain. Her legacy belongs to all who loved her — and to a nation that still has the power to learn from its mistakes."
Further details can be found in Joe Abraham's full op-ed published by the Chicago Tribune.
