Wisconsin Should Reject Sanctuary-State Policies to Avoid Illinois's Fate
Source: M.D. Kittle. "Angel Dad Warns Badger State Voters: Don't Illinois Wisconsin." August 10, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
A grieving father whose daughter was killed by a drunk illegal immigrant driver in Illinois is warning Wisconsin voters not to elect left-leaning candidates who support similar 'sanctuary state' policies limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement. He argues that these policies directly enabled the killer to stay in the country and get a license, and that Wisconsin candidates' anti-ICE and anti-police rhetoric suggests they'd lead the state down the same dangerous path Illinois took.
Conclusion
Wisconsin voters should not elect far-left gubernatorial candidates who support sanctuary-state policies, defunding/abolishing ICE and police, and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, because such policies led to preventable deaths in Illinois and would make Wisconsin less safe.
Premises
- Illinois's sanctuary-state policies (TRUST Act, restrictions on ICE cooperation) allowed a previously deported illegal immigrant to remain in the country, obtain a driver's license despite not speaking English, and later kill Katie Abraham and Chloe Polzin while driving drunk.
- Illinois law enforcement officials have themselves called for reform because sanctuary policies have made communities less safe, citing additional cases like the release of a man later found with Molotov cocktails.
- Wisconsin's leading Democratic gubernatorial candidates (Hong, Crowley, Roys) have expressed support for policies similar to Illinois's, including abolishing or defunding ICE and police, restricting local-federal immigration cooperation, and issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
- A person's past statements and policy positions are the best predictor of their future governance ('what they've said in the past is going to be your best judge of what's going to happen in the future').
- Once a state entrenches these sanctuary policies (as Illinois has), it becomes politically very difficult to reverse them, whereas Wisconsin still has an 'exit ramp' to avoid this path.
- Katie Abraham's death was preventable, not inevitable, implying that different (stricter immigration enforcement) policies would have prevented it and could prevent similar deaths in Wisconsin.
Assumptions
- The specific tragic outcomes in Illinois were primarily caused by sanctuary policies rather than other contributing factors (e.g., individual criminal behavior, enforcement failures unrelated to sanctuary status).
- Wisconsin candidates' rhetorical statements and past tweets accurately predict the actual policies they would enact if elected governor.
- Sanctuary-style policies in Wisconsin would produce similar outcomes to those in Illinois, assuming similar demographic, geographic, and law enforcement conditions.
- There is no meaningful distinction between the specific reforms proposed by Wisconsin candidates and the broader Illinois TRUST Act framework that the author blames for Katie Abraham's death.
- Public safety outcomes are primarily driven by state-level immigration enforcement cooperation rather than federal immigration policy failures (e.g., the border release described in the Sheridan Gorman case occurred under federal, not state, policy).