Federal immigration agents have stepped up arrests of migrants in Illinois, federal officials said Tuesday, linking the operations to a January fatal crash that killed a 20‑year‑old woman and prompting a public dispute with state leaders over sanctuary policies and enforcement.
Joe Abraham, the father of the woman killed in the crash, publicly blamed Governor J.B. Pritzker’s migrant policies for what he called “devastating consequences,” saying his daughter Katie was taken and that he will “never see her again.” Authorities said the crash in January 2025 occurred when a man they described as in the United States illegally struck the vehicle in which Katie Abraham and a friend were waiting at a stoplight; Katie Abraham died at the scene and her friend later died at a nearby hospital. Abraham described his pain on the Fox News program Fox & Friends.
Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons said the agency’s recent arrests in Illinois are being carried out “in Katie’s memory.” Lyons told Fox & Friends that ICE and federal partners are focusing on removing “criminal aliens, known suspected terrorists and gang members” from city streets and that agents will remain active in Chicago and other major cities.
The Department of Homeland Security posted on X that the Illinois operations were linked to the state’s sanctuary policies, arguing those policies allowed criminal migrants to remain in communities. That claim drew immediate pushback from state officials.
Pritzker denied that sanctuary policies were responsible and accused federal authorities of using the operation to instill fear rather than to reduce crime. In a post on X, the governor said the Trump administration had chosen “scaring Illinoisians” instead of taking steps to work with the state on public safety. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city received “no notice of any enhanced immigration action by the Trump administration” and voiced concerns about due process and ICE’s history of wrongful detentions.
Abraham rejected those arguments, saying a different immigration system would have prevented the suspect from being on the road and that his daughter might still be alive. Authorities have said the driver was suspected of drunk driving; prosecutors and law-enforcement officials have been handling criminal charges related to the collision.
The clash comes amid broader national debate over immigration enforcement in Democratic-run cities. Pritzker and the mayor have both opposed a White House plan to send the National Guard to Chicago and expand ICE enforcement there. Federal officials, by contrast, say heightened enforcement is necessary to address violent crime tied to noncitizens who have criminal records.
Mayor Johnson and other city officials expressed frustration with the timing and communication of the federal actions, saying the city was not notified in advance of enhanced operations. They also reiterated concerns that aggressive federal immigration enforcement can erode trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement, complicating public-safety efforts.
Lyons said ICE would continue its operations in Chicago and across the country. "We are out there arresting criminal aliens," he said, and pledged that agents would stay in major cities to remove those he described as a public-safety threat.
The dispute highlights tensions between federal immigration authorities and state and local leaders over who controls enforcement priorities and how public safety is best protected. Officials on both sides said they sought to prevent future tragedies, but they differed sharply over whether intensified federal operations in Illinois advance that goal or risk harming communities and due-process protections.
Federal and state officials did not provide a timetable for further joint action or collaboration. Prosecutors and local law-enforcement agencies continue to handle the criminal investigation and related court proceedings stemming from the January crash.