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As I read and watched the news reports coming out of Minneapolis about the tragic shooting of a woman who allegedly tried to run over a federal agent with her vehicle, two things immediately came to mind.
First, the way protesters were being whipped up, inflamed and used by politicians for selfish ends. Second – and this is much more personal – where was the outrage when my innocent 20-year-old daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed by an illegal alien protected by Illinois’ sanctuary policy?
Katie’s killer was Julio Cucul-Bol. He used a pseudonym. He is currently being treated for an incurable infectious communicable disease, according to court transcripts. Yet when my daughter was violently killed, there were no viral videos, no gripping media panels, no emotional press conferences, and no amplified candlelight vigils by politicians and pundits.
Where were the stories about how the car Katie was in – stopped at a red light – was hit from behind at nearly 80 miles per hour by an illegal alien driving drunk?
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DHS launched “Operation Midway Blitz” in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a hit-and-run drunk driving crash caused by a criminal illegal alien in Sanctuary Illinois. (Department of Homeland Security)
Where was the outrage over how first responders had to open the vehicle like a can of tuna to pull my daughter’s lifeless body from the wreckage?
I was also struck by the fact that the same media figures, politicians, and commentators expressing outrage today over the Minneapolis shootings had nothing to say about Katie. Nothing.
But these politicians had this to say about the ICE shooting:
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New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “We know that when ICE agents attack immigrants, they attack every one of us across this country. »
Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said, “We stand in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis and all those across the country whose lives have been torn apart because of the reckless actions of Trump’s racist and lawless force.”
Karen Bass, Democratic Mayor of Los Angeles: “This happened because of the Trump administration’s brutal, racist policies that released these officers.”
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The hypocrisy is impossible to ignore.
The night before the June 12, 2025 congressional hearings on sanctuary policies, my wife and I happened to be dining at the same restaurant as Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz. I approached him and we had a polite conversation. Walz offered his condolences on Katie’s passing, which I appreciated.
President Donald Trump holds a photo of Katie Abraham, pictured right, as her father Joe Abraham, left, looks on during an event to promote Trump’s domestic policies and budget agenda in the East Room of the White House. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
But the next day, while testifying in favor of sanctuary policies, Walz didn’t say a single word about my daughter. Not a single acknowledgment that Katie was violently killed by an illegal alien protected by the very policies he stood for.
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Instead, after the Jan. 7 shooting, he said “the Trump administration’s dangerous and sensationalist operations pose a threat to our public safety.”
At those same hearings, Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker and New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul also appeared. Yet my own governor, Pritzker, has offered Katie nothing but indifference, silence and disrespect. In my opinion, this is not compassion or humanity. It’s a right: a distant billionaire, insulated from the consequences of his policies, exempt from the harm they cause, just like the illegal aliens he protects.
As we approach the one-year anniversary of Katie’s death on January 19, 2025, sanctuary policies continue to cause death and destruction. And our political leaders continue to redouble their efforts.
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I was also struck by the fact that the same media figures, politicians, and commentators expressing outrage today over the Minneapolis shootings had nothing to say about Katie. Nothing.
Katie’s death was no accident. This was the predictable result of policy decisions made by Illinois leaders who chose ideology over accountability.
States like Illinois and Minnesota have effectively overridden federal immigration law by passing safe harbor laws that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement, even when authorities have credible information about an individual’s identity, background, or risk to public safety. These policies not only failed my daughter and the other victims that night. They have failed all citizens. And they have failed even those they recklessly import for political purposes.
This is not an immigration policy. This is not compassion. It’s cruelty.
Sanctuary policies are often defended as “humane,” but compassion without structure is neglect. A system that invites people in while refusing to vet them, guide them, or hold them accountable doesn’t uplift the most vulnerable—it abandons them.
This is not friendly governance. This is systemic irresponsibility.
By refusing to cooperate with federal authorities, Illinois removed every safeguard that could have prevented a tragedy. No meaningful background checks. No confirmation of identity. No surveillance. No intervention – until it’s too late.
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Katie paid with her life.
And while my family grieves, Illinois leaders refuse to suspend, audit, or re-evaluate these policies. There are no serious efforts to implement even basic safeguards such as identity verification, health screenings, language services or legal employment pathways – measures that would protect both residents and newcomers.
At those same hearings, Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker and New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul also appeared. Yet my own governor, Pritzker, has offered Katie nothing but indifference, silence and disrespect.
Instead, officials hide behind slogans and accuse critics of lacking compassion. Their hyperbolic language fuels tensions rather than easing them. But it is precisely the chaos that is to blame: it creates a diversion, a deviation and a political cover for a policy that has failed. I would also argue that it inflamed activists like Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman who was shot and killed by an ICE officer? His death is now being used as cannon fodder against ICE, DHS and the Trump administration.
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Where is the humanity in all this?
Policies should be judged by results, not intentions. When a system repeatedly produces preventable deaths, injuries, fraud, and unrest, it is broken.
Illinois and other sanctuary states can – and must – do better. We need policies that are both legal and humane. Policies that enforce the law while providing real structure, oversight and accountability. Policies that protect communities without dehumanizing anyone.
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Sacrificing people like Katie is not moral leadership. It’s a failure.
If our leaders are unwilling to face the consequences of their decisions, they should step down. And if they refuse, citizens must demand better leadership at the ballot box.
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We deserve security. We deserve accountability. And we deserve leaders who value human life over political rhetoric.
Sanctuary states have failed us all. They must do better.
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