I agreed to let the Department of Homeland Security honor my daughter because their goals matched what every grieving parent wants: enforcement that protects families and public recognition that her death mattered. This piece walks through what happened, why policy choices mattered, and why I back tougher accountability now. I explain how meetings with DHS and ICE changed my view of the people doing hard work on the ground and why Illinois leaders failed Katie and our community.
When DHS first asked to honor Katie through “Operation Midway Blitz,” I was cautious and understandably hesitant. I refused to let anyone use her name without knowing the purpose and the plan. After conversations with officials who explained the operation’s aim to enforce laws that protect families, I felt her memory could push real change.
Katie was violently killed on Jan. 19, 2025, in a way no parent should ever imagine. She was a passenger stopped at a red light when a drunk driver smashed into the back of their car at nearly 80 miles per hour. The man responsible was identified as Julio Cucul-Bol, a Guatemalan national in the country illegally and using false Mexican identification, and he stole a bright life from us.
After wrecking the car and destroying lives, he fled the scene without offering help or calling for aid. That act of cowardice shows the complete lack of accountability that comes when people enter our country unchecked. No parent should face the aftermath of a preventable tragedy like this because of policy failures.
DHS MARKS ‘ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT DAYS’ OF OPERATION MIDWAY BLITZ WITH SEVERAL ARRESTS I remember the headlines and felt a mix of relief and anger seeing action finally taken. It proved enforcement can make a difference if leaders choose to support it.
If this man had not been in the country against federal law, Katie would likely still be alive. Illinois leaders doubled down on sanctuary policies instead of prioritizing public safety, and that choice had deadly consequences. When policy protects lawbreaking, it shifts risk to innocent residents and families like mine.
I kept asking Illinois politicians how they planned to balance compassion with safety, and the only thing I heard back was silence. Who inspected the back door they opened? Who tracked entries, supported arrivals, or audited the systems they put in place? Those are basic public-safety questions that never got answered.
OUTRAGE ERUPTS AFTER BOOZED-UP ILLEGAL-IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY MOWS DOWN BLUE STATE COUPLE – ‘HOW MANY MORE?’ The outrage is real and justified, but outrage without policy change is hollow. We need systems that prevent tragedies, not excuses that normalize them.
Instead of foresight, Illinois handed incentives to illegal migration and sent a message that rules could be ignored without consequence. That is not compassion; it is negligence dressed up as policy. It shows no respect for the vulnerable people making dangerous journeys or for the neighbors who deserve to feel safe on the roads and in their towns.
After Katie’s death I met with dozens of DHS and ICE agents and support staff in Chicago, including Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. Their professionalism and dedication stood out to me; these were Americans doing difficult, necessary work. They are not the villains some paint them to be but the people trying to restore order after years of neglect.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION I include that line not as a link but to reflect the conversation around this tragedy and the broader policy debate. If elected officials truly cared about safety, they would work with agencies doing the hard work instead of scoring political points.
Illinois politicians have shown no real compassion for victims because that would mean admitting policy failure. Keeping inflated census numbers or political clout seems to matter more than protecting lives, and that calculation is morally wrong. Their silence speaks louder than any press release ever could.
Katie lost the chance to build a life, to marry, to have children, and to do all the ordinary things families dream about. Those are not abstract losses; they are the hard, permanent consequences of failed leadership. I support Operation Midway Blitz because it aims to bring accountability back to our immigration system and put safety first.
