Angel dad rebukes Democrats for staying seated during State of Union

An angel dad whose daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant is decrying lawmakers for refusing to stand in support of American citizens during Tuesday’s State of the Union.

During the address, President Donald Trump urged lawmakers to stand if they agree that the first duty of the American government is to protect its own citizens rather than illegal immigrants. While Republicans erupted in a standing ovation, the majority of the Democratic side of the chamber remained seated.

Joe Abraham, whose daughter Katie Abraham was killed by an illegal immigrant in January 2025, said the moment showed that families like his have become invisible.

“At the State of the Union, you can’t stand up for some of these simple ideals? It’s so odd to me,” Abraham said Friday on “The Riley Gaines Show.”

“I don’t really understand exactly what’s going on, but we’ve got some evil folks running things,” he added.

His daughter and her friend were killed when a Guatemalan national who was in the United States illegally struck their car while driving about 80 mph. The driver had been previously deported and was using multiple aliases to obtain a driver’s license.

Since his daughter’s death, Abraham said he has tried to contact state authorities about sanctuary policies, but his pleas for accountability have received “absolutely zero” response.

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“There’s no real, rational understanding why a governor of a state wouldn’t speak to a citizen of his state, a lifelong Illinoisan,” Abraham said.

“The disrespect he showed Katie is so disgusting to me,” he added.

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Abraham, who described his family as still being in a “dark place,” said the state continues to ignore him while the federal government has taken action. He revealed he has spoken “father-to-father” with President Donald Trump since the tragedy.

In 2025, Abraham supported the launch of Operation Midway Blitz in his daughter’s honor. The operation targeted criminal illegal migrants in Chicago, who DHS claimed “flocked” to Illinois because they knew sanctuary policies would protect them.

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In September, Pritzker responded to a DHS post on X, formerly Twitter, about Operation Midway Blitz, writing: “Once again, this isn’t about fighting crime. That requires support and coordination — yet we’ve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks.”

“Instead of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump Administration’s focused on scaring Illinoisians,” Pritzker added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office for comment. 

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