Katie Abraham, 20, and Chloe Polzin, 21, were out with three friends late one January night in Urbana, Illinois, searching for a snack on a bitterly cold evening. The two University of Illinois water polo players were visiting friends at the campus as winter break drew to a close, Abraham’s father told CNN.
Shortly before 2 a.m. on January 19, their vehicle stopped at a red light when an SUV suddenly slammed into them from behind, injuring all five passengers, according to Urbana Police. Both Abraham and Polzin were killed in what authorities described as a drunken-driving hit-and-run. The suspect, reportedly in the United States illegally, fled the scene.
Abraham was pronounced dead at a local hospital, while Polzin passed away the following day, her obituary confirmed.
Nearly eight months later, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new immigration enforcement initiative in Illinois, dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” honoring Abraham and highlighting her death as an example of the federal government’s alleged failure to prevent crimes involving individuals in the country illegally.
Joe Abraham, the victim’s father, criticized both federal and state authorities, saying they had “miserably” failed to protect his daughter and that local politicians’ inaction effectively allowed the tragedy to occur.
What we know about the wreck
Temperatures had dropped as low as 2 degrees the night Abraham died, and never broke above freezing that day.
Abraham and Polzin had been friends since childhood through the East Side Water Polo Club in the Chicago suburbs.
On the night of the accident, the two, along with three friends, were stopped at a red light just 1.5 miles north of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign when a red Mitsubishi Outlander struck their car from behind, according to police.
All five individuals were transported to the hospital, police reported. Two were treated and released for minor injuries, and another has since recovered. Abraham was pronounced dead at the hospital, while Polzin was declared brain dead the following day, according to her obituary.
Police said the driver fled the scene on foot. Three days later, the US Marshals Service found him in Texas, riding a bus headed to Mexico.
“I think she always felt more at home in the water than on land,” her father said. Abraham had played water polo on a travel team throughout high school and continued with a club team in college. She had also been swimming and diving from a young age, he added.
Originally from Glenview, Illinois, Abraham was entering her third year at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. While she hadn’t finalized her major, her father said she was leaning toward marketing, and they had planned to discuss it during her next visit home. “She had a plan for her future, and obviously that plan was cut short,” he said.
Joe Abraham said his daughter “loved life, and she knew how to enjoy it, and get the best out of it.”
He called her “such a special person,” who was genuine and authentic. She made everyone feel seen and had a terrific wit and a great sense of humor, he added.
She loved all kinds of music, and Joe Abraham recalled sitting together and listening to music from his generation.
She had an “eclectic group of friends,” and two siblings with whom she was close.
“She was just such a good sister to her older sister and older brother,” her father said. “It’s a sad, sad situation.”
What we know about the SUV driver
US Marshals tracked down the SUV driver three days after he fled the scene of the crime on an “El Expreso” bus – “the express” heading to Matamoros, Mexico.
When first apprehended, the man told police he was a 27-year-old Mexican named Juan Jahaziel Saenz-Suarez. However, the following day, he admitted that this was false: he was actually 29, from Guatemala, and his real name was Julio Cucul-Bol. Authorities said Cucul-Bol was in the United States illegally and had used forged documents to conceal his identity.
Police have filed new charges against Cucul-Bol, including leaving the scene of a crash causing death, aggravated DUI resulting in death, and reckless homicide. In May, federal prosecutors charged him with possession of a false permanent resident card, a false Social Security card, misuse of a passport, and making a false statement on a bank application, according to the Department of Justice.
In February, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed an arrest detainer requesting that local authorities notify the agency before Cucul-Bol’s release, the agency told CNN. ICE records indicate he is currently being held in custody in Champaign, Illinois. CNN has contacted the Department of Justice for updates on his status, and court records do not currently list a defense attorney for him.
The case has also entered the political arena. Joe Abraham said the federal government first reached out to him in June when House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer invited him to attend a hearing. The meeting included testimony from Democratic governors, including Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, on their states’ “sanctuary” policies.
He said he had hoped to speak with Pritzker after the Illinois governor heard his daughter’s story, “No one could muster up even a look in my direction.”
A few weeks later, Abraham said he and his wife were invited by the Trump administration to the White House for an event promoting what Trump called his “big, beautiful bill.”
“Joe, we will end this invasion once and for all, and we will always honor the memory of Katie, your beautiful 20-year-old daughter,” Trump told him, shaking his hand while holding up a photo of the father and daughter.
“I don’t want to get political. I hate all this, but I’m in this position now,” Joe Abraham said. He criticized both the current Illinois government and the previous presidential administration for what he sees as failures in immigration enforcement, and he called for stricter vetting before individuals are allowed into the country.
“Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying everyone is a criminal. But this particular individual should have been caught by the system. He was using an alias and wasn’t contributing positively in Illinois,” Abraham said. “For him to take her life is truly tragic.”
A question appears in overlaid text on the video: “When you hear people say illegal aliens aren’t given due process, what’s your reaction?”
“Katie didn’t receive any due process,” Joe Abraham said in the video. “When you talk about due process, I wish she were in another country or in some detention center I could visit—but she’s not, and I’ll never see her again.”
The Department of Homeland Security contacted Abraham a day before announcing that Operation Midway Blitz would be launched in honor of their daughter.
“Some might say they’re using me, but maybe we’re using them a little, too, to prevent other children from being harmed and spare other parents what we’ve had to endure,” he added. “So maybe it goes both ways. I was just grateful someone acknowledged Katie.”
What is Operation Midway Blitz?
DHS on Monday announced “Operation Midway Blitz,” aimed at targeting “criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained at least five individuals over the weekend in Chicago, including a flower vendor and a person waiting at a bus stop, Chicago Alderperson Jeylú Gutiérrez said Monday.
Officials familiar with the operation said arrests in the city are expected to increase as a federal presence is gradually established through a phased, weeks-long approach, though plans remain subject to change.
The ongoing operations in Boston and Chicago follow the model of the June immigration sweeps carried out in Los Angeles. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that immigration officials can continue these so-called “roving patrols” in Southern California, which lower courts had previously deemed likely to violate the Fourth Amendment.
On Monday, Governor J.B. Pritzker condemned the Department of Homeland Security operations in Illinois, tweeting that the initiative “isn’t about fighting crime.”
“That requires support and coordination, yet we’ve seen none of that over the past several weeks,” he said, adding that the administration has instead prioritized “scaring Illinoisians.”
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