A year after his daughter was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Urbana, Illinois, Joe Abraham has confronted the human cost of the state’s failed border and immigration policies and demanded Illinois lawmakers acknowledge her death for the first time.

While Operation Midway Blitz, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration enforcement operation targeting criminal illegal immigrants, was launched in honor of Katie Abraham's death, Abraham also warned illegal immigrants to "do things the right way."

"If you want to really be part of America and come in here, then you have got to do things the right way," said Abraham, who is featured in a video for arrested near Dallas while on a bus heading to Matamoros, Mexico. Police said he was found with fake Mexican identification under the name Juan JaHaziel Saenz-Suarez.

Cucul-Bol was sentenced to 30 years in prison after accepting a plea deal for charges including leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death, aggravated DUI resulting in death and reckless homicide.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) had charged him with possessing a false Social Security card, possessing a false permanent resident card, making a false statement on a bank application and false use of a passport.

"The issue was that when he came into the U.S. there were no background checks. There were no health checks," Abraham said. "He had HIV. That’s in the court transcripts and court documents."

Cucul-Bol could not read or write and spoke neither English nor Spanish – rather, he spoke a Mayan language, according to Abraham. "He wasn’t working and wasn’t productive. This was also not his first foray into drunk driving," he said.

Abraham said his criticism surrounds weak policy, which he hoped would be "rational policy and some common sense," he said. "If you’re going to nullify federal law, you better have a process to fill that void."

Abraham called for practical policies that protect victims and the broader public while also supporting immigrants who come legally and with good intentions. He added that, so far, the main progress has been federal agencies like DHS and ICE stepping in to assist communities despite facing resistance from multiple sides.

"ICE has to go out on the streets now, because Illinois won't cooperate," he said. "You can’t throw out the welcome mat to anyone and everyone, unchecked and unvetted, and then wash your hands of the consequences."

Illinois and the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government over Operation Midway Blitz, alleging that President Donald Trump’s administration violated Tenth Amendment protections through what the suit described as "unlawful and violent" enforcement tactics.

"We can contrast Pritzker with Donald Trump, who invited us to the White House, who looked me in the eye, father to father. He acknowledged Katie’s life and said things are out of control, and he will work to fix it," he added. "This past year without my daughter has been the most brutal year of my life."