Overview
- Katie Abraham, 20, died in January after a rear-end crash at a stoplight in Urbana, and her friend Chloe Polzin died the next day.
- Local police identified the driver as Julio Cucul-Bol, a Guatemalan immigrant without legal status, and charged him with manslaughter, DUI, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
- On September 8, DHS launched Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago and across Illinois, describing it as an ICE effort to locate and detain immigrants with criminal histories.
- DHS official Tricia McLaughlin said the operation honors Abraham and criticized Illinois sanctuary policies, framing the effort as part of a broader national strategy.
- Chicago declined to cooperate, and immigrant advocates report arrests of street vendors and disruptions to public events, following an August DHS video featuring Abraham’s parents that elevated the case.