ICE's Operation Midway Blitz to target undocumented immigrants in Chicago area

CHICAGO - The Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz on Monday, an effort to crack down on undocumented immigrants in Chicago and Illinois.

The operation was launched in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed this year in a hit-and-run car crash with a Guatemalan man who was in the country illegally.

"This ICE operation will target the 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," a tweet from the department read.

The tweet included a 4-minute video featuring the parents of Abraham talking about their daughter's death and criticizing the U.S. immigration system.

"President Trump and Secretary Noem stand with the victims of illegal alien crime while Governor Pritzker stands with criminal illegal aliens," the tweet read.

The backstory:

Abraham, 20, was visiting friends at the University of Illinois in January when the car she and four of her friends were traveling in was suddenly hit.

"They were at a stoplight and there was someone who was driving drunk who hit them from behind at full force. And following the accident, he fled on foot," said Katie's father, Joe Abraham. 

Katie died at the scene, and her friend, Chloe Polzin, 21, of Deerfield, died the following day.

U.S. Marshals arrested Julio Cucul Bol, a Guatemalan national using an alias, on a bus in Texas headed for the Mexican border just days after the crash.

The parents of Abraham, Michelle and Joe Abraham, of Glenview, spoke with FOX 32 and said they are still reeling from the death of their daughter.

Joe added that they are pleased the White House is naming the ICE enforcement action in the Chicago area after Katie.

"With the backdrop of Illinois being so deathly silent on Katie, almost an annoyance that I'm even saying anything about it, I feel like they think that I should just be okay with being collateral damage to whatever policies they're trying to do. But I appreciate the fact that they acknowledged Katie. They thought of Katie. Some people could say they are leveraging, but maybe we're leveraging them too. So the story gets out and other children don't get killed," said Joe Abraham. 

Katie's parents said they are not particularly political people, but will continue to speak out about what happened to their daughter as a way of honoring her memory. 

What they're saying:

"As President Trump continues to wrongly hyper-fixate on deploying the military to Chicago, his Administration is now ramping up its campaign to arrest hardworking immigrants with no criminal convictions," Sen. Dick Durbin said in a statement. "These actions don’t make us safer. They are a waste of money, stoke fear, and represent another failed attempt at a distraction."

"To the hardworking immigrant families who are now scared to send your children to school, go to the hospital, or report crimes to the police: we stand with you. Please know that a majority of Americans do not support these anti-immigrant actions by the Trump Administration. While the President exhibits disdain for immigrants, Chicago embraces them as family who help make our economy thrive and our city strong."

Chicago's sanctuary city status

Big picture view:

Over the course of the Trump administration’s immigration surges, Chicago officials repeatedly reaffirmed the city’s so-called sanctuary policies that have been place for four decades.

Chicago’s policies bar local law enforcement from asking about or detaining someone for their immigration status or from supporting ICE, including by securing perimeters for raids, transporting detainees or sharing information about undocumented immigrants.

Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order last week declaring city police would not collaborate with federal immigration agents. It also requires Chicago officers to wear uniforms and not wear masks to "clearly distinguish them from federal agents."

"We will not have our police officers who are working hard every single day to drive down crime deputized to do traffic stops and checkpoints for the president," Johnson said before signing the order.