Illinois Accountability Commission hears final two days of testimony into misconduct by federal immigration officials
By MAGGIE DOUGHERTY
Capitol News Illinois
mdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com
Article Summary
The mother of a young woman to whom the Trump administration dedicated Operation Midway Blitz testified to the Illinois Accountability Commission on Monday, saying her daughter would not have wanted this legacy.
The testimony comes in the penultimate public hearing of the commission ahead of a Thursday deadline to provide findings and recommendations to Gov. JB Pritzker.
Since its formation last October, the commission says it has conducted 16 in-depth investigations into federal agent misconduct, based on over 60 interviews and hundreds of hours of body camera, surveillance camera and private citizen footage.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
CHICAGO — The Trump administration dedicated Operation Midway Blitz in a press release to 20-year-old Katie Abraham, who was killed last year in a drunken driving accident in Urbana by a Guatemalan man residing in the U.S. without legal status.
But her mother said the administration never sought her permission to use her daughter’s name in furtherance of its political agenda, an association she says her daughter would not want.
Denise Lorence, Abraham’s mother, testified Monday during one of the final two hearings of the Illinois Accountability Commission, a body created by Gov. JB Pritzker last fall to document misconduct of federal agents amid the Chicago area immigration enforcement campaign.
“Katie would have hated it, and she would have hated having her name continuing to be used by politicians, publicly and on social media,” Lorence told commissioners. “The Trump administration preyed on her name and used it in a vile way.”
Abraham’s father, Joe Abraham, has been supportive of President Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign, appearing beside the president as he promoted his domestic agenda in the White House last June.
He and his current wife were featured in a video released by the Department of Homeland Security, voicing support for increased border security funding. Abraham also penned an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune, criticizing Illinois lawmakers for undermining federal immigration policy.
“If even just one life is saved because of her story, then I know my Katie would be proud that I spoke up,” Abraham wrote. “As parents, we all process grief in different ways. The best way I know to honor my daughter is to help prevent other families from living this nightmare.”
The immigration enforcement campaign conducted last fall detained roughly 3,800 people and deported nearly 2,500, the majority of whom had no criminal record, according to an analysis by the Chicago Tribune.
It’s not how her daughter would want to be remembered, Lorence said, arguing that DHS should have consulted both parents.
“It’s not for her,” Lorence said. “Having my daughter’s legacy associated with this violent government operation and their political agenda, instead of the light and positivity that she contributed to this world is inexcusable, and she would want nothing to do with it.”
DHS did not respond to a request for comment regarding the use of Abraham’s name in connection with Operation Midway Blitz.
Sixteen investigations
The testimony from Abraham’s mother was featured in the second-to-last hearing to be held by the commission before it submits a final report with its recommendations to Pritzker on Thursday.
Since the commission was formed last October, it has conducted 16 in-depth investigations in Chicago based on interviews with over 60 eyewitnesses, nearly 100 hours of federal agent body camera footage and hundreds of hours of footage from surveillance cameras, personal devices and social media.
It also conducted seven commissioner-led private group listening sessions in different neighborhoods, according to a news release.
Read more: Accountability Commission hears testimony about excessive force by ICE agents. Felt like a ‘war zone’ | ‘A crisis for the nation’: ICE accountability commission continues to seek solutions | A city blanketed in fear: Accountability Commission hears shocking testimony about ICE
The investigations included the fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas Gonzales, a Mexican father of two fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a September traffic stop in Franklin Park, and the shooting of Marimar Martinez, a teacher’s aide who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October.
Martinez is expected to testify tomorrow with her lawyer, as is former Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Denise Lorence, mother of Katie Abraham, says during an April 27 hearing of the Illinois Accountability Commission that her daughter should be remembered as the “empathetic and caring person she was,” not used to further the Trump administration’s political aims. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Maggie Dougherty)