Secretary of State dismisses calls for clarity on migrant's license
status
[July 18, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – The Illinois Secretary of State is pushing back
against claims from conservatives that his department has issued drivers
licenses to non-citizens using false documents.
In a video this week, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias addressed
claims made by U.S. Reps. Mary Miller, R-Ill. And Jim Jordan, R-Ohio,
along with former state Rep. Jeanne Ives.
The group's claims centered on the 2025 death of 20-year-old Katie
Abraham and another young woman from a crash with a drunken motorist in
Urbana – a Guatemalan man who is alleged to have false documentation and
lacked legal status in the country.
Both members of Congress, along with Ives, claimed that Juan Jahaziel
Saenz Suarez, using the alias Julio Cucul Bol, was issued a state
drivers license under Giannoulias’ watch.
The Secretary denied the claims.
“These are boldface lies. This individual was never issued an Illinois
driver's license, period. Using a family's tragedy to manufacture a
false political narrative is deceitful, reprehensible, and does nothing
to improve public safety,” Giannoulias said.
He went on to say Illinoisans can respect immigrant communities while
the state also holds bad actors to account.
After the secretary’s denial, Ives told The Center Square that she
believes Giannoulias wasn’t being truthful, and police report records
contain a drivers license number for the foreign national.
“It's just a sad statement from a public official because if he wants to
make this claim that he didn't issue a driver's license to an illegal
who killed Katie Abraham, then all he has to do is show the
documentation. He won't do it,” Ives said.
Department of Homeland Security officials previously cited Abrams’ death
in beginning “Operation Midway Blitz,” an increase in immigration
enforcement in the Chicagoland area in 2025.
In early May, Katie Abraham’s father, Joe Abraham, joined state Sen.
Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, when the lawmaker introduced legislation that
would have amended state law to allow local and state law enforcement to
coordinate with federal immigration enforcement.
The measure didn’t make progress beyond its introduction in Springfield.
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Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias speaks at an event.
Photo: BlueRoomStream / Screenshot
In his response to Giannoulias, Joe Abraham echoed similar sentiments to
Ives.
“Instead of transparency, my family has had to work with Judicial Watch
to sue Urbana for records so we can understand exactly what happened.
The officials you criticize [...] have shown my family compassion and
have tried to get us answers. You never did,” Abraham said in an online
post.
The Secretary of State’s office did not respond to The Center
Square’s request for comment before this story was published.
A federal grand jury indicted Suarez in May on charges of possessing
false identification documents, including a residency card, among
others.
The city of Urbana was not able to release police records that
would, one way or another, prove the claims against Giannoulias –
due to the pending nature of the federal case.
A knowledgeable city official suggested that it wouldn’t be if
officers included a falsified drivers license number on reports of
the fake documents.
“100% of everything he does is political. It is not for the good ,
the health and welfare of the residents of the state of Illinois.
It's for his own political future,” Ives said when asked about
Giannoulias’ use of an official government channel on social media
to publish the video, in which he called her and the members of
Congress “MAGA grifters.”
Ives criticised Giannoulias – who is currently running for
reelection and is a largely discussed name in conversations about
who will run for Chicago Mayor next year – claiming he used the
channel in a political manner.
“He thinks attacking Trump, calling people like me ‘MAGA,’ is how
he's going to get elected to this mayor ship and elected mayor sorry
in Chicago and just you know why don't you start doing your first
job right the first time and he just hasn't done that,” Ives said. |
