Opinion

I lost my daughter to sanctuary policies. My senators are too cowardly to talk to me

14 months after my daughter Katie's death, a US senator, who represents me in Congress, was still unfamiliar with an incident that profoundly affected one of her constituents

By Joe Abraham Fox News

Published April 6, 2026 5:00am EDT

Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google

close

Video

'Angel Dad' slams politicians for migrant crime and sanctuary policies

'Angel Dad' Joe Abraham condemns politicians and sanctuary policies amid rising instances of migrant crime on 'Sunday Night in America.'

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

My family and I are lifelong Illinoisans. We are now living each day with the consequences of what I believe are misguided sanctuary city and state policies in our state. Our top government leaders—Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, along with Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker—have supported these policies, often without what many would consider meaningful guardrails. Too often there has been no direct engagement from any of these leaders or acknowledgment of the victims who live with the real-world consequences of sanctuary polices.

My daughter Katie was killed at age 20 on January 19, 2025, in an incident that should never have happened. She and four of her friends were stopped at a red light in Urbana when they were rear-ended at nearly 80 miles per hour. The driver—previously deported, driving drunk, operating under an alias, and with a record that raised serious concerns—was able to remain in the country and on the road.

The impact was so severe that first responders had to pry Katie and the other girls from the wreckage. Katie was killed at the scene. Another young woman died in the hospital the next day. The three others in the car suffered serious injuries. What should have been an ordinary moment at a traffic light became an irreversible tragedy.

ANGEL FATHER SLAMS PRITZKER'S SANCTUARY POLICIES, SAYING THEY LEAD TO 'PREVENTABLE' DEATHS

That is the reality behind what are often abstract policy debates, including those surrounding sanctuary city and state policies.

At the end of March, I encountered that disconnect firsthand.

On March 25, 2026, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. Sen. Durbin—one of Illinois’ senators—was part of that broader committee process. Yet it was my other senator, Tammy Duckworth, whom I encountered outside the hearing rooms at the U.S. Capitol.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., threatened to block........

© Fox News