An Illinois father grieving the loss of his daughter is blaming Gov. JB Pritzker's migrant policies, saying they led to devastating consequences.
"My daughter was taken. We are separated, I will never see her again," Joe Abraham said Tuesday on "Fox & Friends," describing the loss of his 20-year-old daughter, Katie.
"She got death; I got a life-sentence."
Katie Abraham and a friend were waiting at a stoplight in January 2025 when police say their car was struck at high speed by a Guatemalan man in the U.S. illegally. Authorities said he was suspected of drunk driving. Katie died at the scene, while her friend later died at a nearby hospital.
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Now, Abraham and his family are demanding tougher action from state leaders. He criticized Pritzker’s silence on the case, calling it "deafening."
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson oppose President Trump’s plan to send the National Guard and expand ICE enforcement in Chicago. (Getty Images; Scott Olson)
In response, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it is ramping up arrests of criminal migrants in Illinois. Federal officials said the raids are being carried out in Katie’s memory.
"Every day, the men and women of ICE and the other federal partners that are with us in Chicago, we honor Katie by going out there and getting these criminal aliens off the street," Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said on "Fox & Friends."
In a statement on X, the Department of Homeland Security linked its Illinois operations to the state’s sanctuary policies, arguing they allowed criminal migrants to roam the streets.
Pritzker denied those claims, accusing federal authorities of using the operation to instill fear in the community rather than reduce crime. Pritzker wrote on X:
"Instead of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump Administration's focused on scaring Illinoisians."
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson made similar arguments, saying the city received "no notice of any enhanced immigration action by the Trump administration" and that he remains opposed to ICE’s actions over due process concerns.
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He also raised concerns about ICE’s history, saying the agency in the past wrongfully detained American citizens and violated their rights.
Abraham rejected those arguments, saying that with a proper immigration system, the migrant who killed his daughter could have been filtered out, and his child might still be alive.
Katie Abraham was killed in January when a Guatemalan man in the U.S. illegally, who authorities said was suspected of drunk driving, struck her car at high speed. (Department of Homeland Security)
While state and federal leaders continue to fight over immigration policy, Lyons said ICE remains committed to operations in Chicago and across the country.
"We are out there arresting criminal aliens, known suspected terrorists and gang members that are ruining our community," Lyons said.
"The men and women of ICE are [going to] stay in Chicago, and we're [going to] stay at all the major cities across the United States to ensure that we remove this public safety threat from our neighborhoods."