Illinois sanctuary policies killed my daughter, now another tragedy has happened

I never wanted to write something like this again, especially not this recently.

On January 19, 2025, my family was shattered. My daughter was taken from us in an act of violence that, in my opinion, should never have happened. In the days and months that followed, I made a decision that no grieving parent should ever have to make: to speak publicly, over and over again, about what I believed were the systemic failures that cost my daughter her life.

I talked to MPs. I sat for interviews on national television. I wrote and spoke wherever I was given the opportunity; not because I want attention, but because I deeply believe that what happened to my daughter is not an isolated tragedy. It was a warning.

ADMINISTRATOR PRITZKER Ignored My Letter After His Sanctuary Policies Killed My Daughter

I said then that if nothing changes it will happen again.

And now, just over a year later, another family is living this nightmare at the hands of Illinois’ conservation policies.

An 18-year-old college student who was just starting out in life was murdered. And the circumstances once again raise the same painful questions about policy, practice and accountability. Once again, we are faced with the possibility that the tragedy that took my daughter could have been prevented.

AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT KILLED MY DAUGHTER — LEFTISTS ARE MARCHING FOR RENEE, NOT KATIE

There is no justification in this. Just heartbreak – again.

I don’t pretend to know every solution. But I know this: Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. Ignoring these tragedies as isolated incidents will not prevent the next one.

When I first started speaking, some people listened. Others told me that what happened to my daughter was rare, that it should not shape broader policy, that the system, though flawed, was working as intended.

But how many times does it have to happen before we stop saying something is rare?

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What we are seeing now is not just a coincidence. This is the result of policies, no matter how well-intentioned, that create real gaps; spaces where there are no persons who need to be identified, detained or removed. Loopholes that allow preventable tragedies to occur.

This is not about placing blame on entire communities. This isn’t about fear or division. It’s about responsibility. It’s about whether we’re willing to accept that public policy has real-world consequences, and that when those policies fail, people will pay with their lives.

In the sanctuary state of Illinois, DHS launched ‘Operation Midway Raid’ in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a hit-and-run car crash caused by a drunken and illegal felon. (Department of Homeland Security)

I’ve spent the past year trying to turn unimaginable pain into something that will protect others. I met with policymakers. I have shared my daughter’s story more times than I can count. I pushed for changes that I believed could prevent another family from going through what mine went through.

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And yet here we are.

Another young life was lost. Another family changed forever. Another moment where we are forced to ask questions that should already have answers.

How many warnings are required?

How many families have to suffer before we are ready to face the fact that things are broken?

I don’t pretend to know every solution. But I know this: Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. Ignoring these tragedies as isolated incidents will not prevent the next one.

At best it guarantees this.

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Now to the family who experienced this: My heart is with you. I know the shock, the anger, the excruciating pain. I know the questions that will keep you up at night. And I’m so sorry that your warnings came too late to save you.

We owe it to them and every family to do better.

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