Illinois GOP Senator Pushes to Undo Limits on Police Cooperation with ICE After Tragic Hit-and-Run

Illinois Republican State Senator Chapin Rose is attempting to dismantle key parts of the Illinois TRUST Act by introducing Senate Bill 4196, which would allow local law enforcement officers to communicate and cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The move comes as Democratic lawmakers have been working to tighten restrictions on ICE operations within the state.

Rose argues that current Illinois law is “insane” and that reopening communication lines between local police and federal immigration agents is a matter of common sense and public safety. His bill would remove prohibitions preventing law enforcement from entering agreements to detain individuals when federal officers present valid warrants.

Backing Rose is Joe Abraham, an “angel parent” whose 20-year-old daughter, Katie Abraham, died in a 2025 hit-and-run incident caused by Julio Cucul Bol, an undocumented immigrant who had allegedly fled the scene. Abraham claims that if local police had been allowed to cooperate with ICE, the tragedy could have been prevented.

According to public records, Cucul Bol, a Guatemalan national, was later detained by U.S. Marshals in Texas while attempting to travel to Mexico under a false identity. He faces charges related to identity fraud and the fatal hit-and-run that also killed another passenger, 21-year-old Chloe Polzin.

“This law would have protected Katie,” Abraham said. “When Julio Cucul Bol came into our country as Juan Suarez in Illinois, the federal government knew he wasn’t who he said he was. Working with the federal partners, he wouldn’t have been in Illinois, he wouldn’t have killed two women.”

Despite their rhetoric, both Rose and Abraham insist the bill is not a call for local police to become ICE agents. However, the legislation would entirely remove language in the current law that prohibits officers from assisting in immigration enforcement operations — effectively opening the door for increased ICE presence in local policing.

The bill’s future is uncertain as the Illinois legislature nears the end of its session. Meanwhile, Democrats have been advancing legislation to restrict immigration detention centers and are preparing resolutions to keep ICE agents away from polling places during elections.

This proposal highlights the ongoing battle in Illinois over immigration enforcement, civil rights, and the role local police should play in federal immigration matters. Critics warn that allowing police to work closely with ICE risks undermining trust in law enforcement among immigrant communities and could lead to increased racial profiling and civil rights violations.

As the state grapples with these competing priorities, the human toll of immigration enforcement policies remains painfully clear in stories like Katie Abraham’s. Rose’s bill seeks to rewrite the rules — but at what cost to immigrant communities and public trust?