EXCLUSIVE: Angel dad finds ‘new purpose’ with ICE after daughter’s killing turned his world upside down
EXCLUSIVE: A grieving angel dad whose daughter was killed by an illegal alien told Fox News Digital how the tragedy reshaped his life and what he hopes to accomplish leading ICE’s office for victims of illegal alien crime.
"I was living a comfortable, simple life, looking forward to, like, retiring and just watching my kids, and my whole world is upside down," Joe Abraham said Friday, his first day leading ICE's Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement (VOICE) office. "My life as I know it is not there anymore."
In January 2025, Abraham's daughter, Katie, was killed by an illegal alien who was driving drunk in their home state of Illinois. The perpetrator, Guatemalan national Julio Cucul-Bol, who was using an assumed Mexican identity and who did not speak English, was captured in Texas days after the crash as he tried to flee to Mexico.
ANGEL DAD TAKES MAJOR NEW ROLE AFTER DAUGHTER’S KILLING SPARKS SWEEPING ILLEGAL ALIEN CRACKDOWN
He was charged with multiple offenses and later pleaded guilty to charges that included aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
"So, I am in a wilderness, and I'm wandering. I'm trying to find my new purpose without Katie," said Abraham. "I wasn't supposed to. I need Katie. I still need Katie, but I'm trying to find a way through this life without her now. I want her to be proud. I want her name to mean something."
Katie Abraham's story inspired ICE's Operation Midway Blitz, a sweeping federal immigration enforcement action that netted the arrests of more than 4,000 illegal aliens in the Chicago area late last year.
Abraham said it wasn't easy to walk away from the life he's known, which he described as "cushy." He's a lifelong Illinoisan who was forced to confront an unimaginable reality, and found it impossible to get support from state officials.
DHS SCORCHES PRITZKER'S 'SANCTUARY' STATE AFTER CHILD RAPIST ON ICE DETAINER RELEASED
"Give me Katie, and you'll never hear from me again," he said. "But that is not reality — and I think it is part of the mission — part of the mission is to help other people. I know what they're going through and they need help. I want be one of the guys that helps them."
Abraham was invited to a congressional oversight hearing in June 2025 on illegal immigration, where Katie's story was highlighted.
JB Pritzker, along with other Democratic governors, were at the hearing, which focused on sanctuary state policies that officials refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, even in cases of the most heinous violent crimes. Abraham said Pritzker and congressional Democrats refused to acknowledge him.
But he found support from President Donald Trump, who invited him and other angel families to the White House. He described Trump as "genuine" and "empathetic," unlike, says Abraham, the way the 47th president is portrayed in the media.
That meeting launched a cascading series of events that eventually landed him the job he started today. He partnered with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) doing communications work, telling his story across multiple platforms.
ANGEL FAMILIES PLEAD WITH LEADERS TO 'CHOOSE' AMERICAN CHILDREN OVER PROTECTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
He plans to continue that work at VOICE.
"I think what we'd like to see the voice, No. 1 is awareness," Abraham said. "We want people to know that we're out here and some of the services that we can offer. I want this to be someplace where victims feel heard, feel cared for, feel dignity. I mean, they deserve nothing less than that."
The VOICE office was reestablished by the Trump administration in April 2025, after President Donald Trump directed DHS to revive the Biden-era shuttered office upon taking office for his second term in January.
Since then, it has had a major impact helping families of illegal alien crime victims.
The office helps victims navigate the complex world of immigration law and often provides them information about their loved ones' cases. It also directs families to social service like grief therapy that can assist them in the wake of the death of a loved one.
Americans can also report illegal alien crimes through the office.
VOICE has received 897 total calls from victims, family members and advocates and has helped 588 victims seeking assistance and information, according to a report published in June.
Further, it has assisted 185 victim family members seeking services and information.
The most frequently reported crimes are assault, at 35%, rape and sexual assault, at 17%, and homicide and manslaughter, at 10%.
"When these tragedies happen, and I can use myself as an example, you're still in a fog, right? You're sometimes not thinking straight. You're not getting everything. Like everything isn't sort of absorbing," Abraham said.
"You know, you're so focused on the grief and the tragedy and the loss that it would have really been helpful instead of me trying to have like six different places to go, then I can just go to one place and they will help me."
Pritzker's office did not immediately return a request for comment.