As families across the country celebrate Father's Day, the Department of Homeland Security is honoring a group of fathers bound together by tragedy: men whose children were killed or catastrophically injured in crimes tied to illegal aliens and cartel-linked criminals. The recognition comes through the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office, known as VOICE, which was relaunched under the Trump administration after being shuttered during the Biden administration.
DHS shared the stories of three Angel Dads with Fox News Digital: Marcus Coleman, Joe Abraham and Doug Quets. Their losses now serve as a reminder of the lasting impact illegal immigrant crime can have on American families. The VOICE office provides support, offender custody information, victim services and guidance to families affected by crimes with an immigration nexus.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive advocates acknowledge the grief experienced by these families while arguing that enforcement-focused policies alone do not address the root causes of such tragedies. They point to broader criminal justice research suggesting that crimes committed by undocumented immigrants represent a small fraction of violent incidents in the United States.
Immigration reform supporters contend that comprehensive legislative solutions, including pathways to legal status for long-term residents without serious criminal records, would free up enforcement resources to focus on genuinely dangerous individuals. Some Democratic lawmakers have argued that investing in community-based programs and addressing socioeconomic factors reduces crime more effectively than aggressive deportation regimes.
Advocates also note that many victims of crimes involving immigrants are themselves immigrants, and argue that blanket anti-immigrant rhetoric can strain community relationships with law enforcement, potentially hindering investigations. They push for policies that encourage witnesses to come forward regardless of immigration status.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative voices point to cases like those of Katie Abraham and Nicholas Quets as evidence of what they describe as the consequences of weak border security and sanctuary city policies. They argue that when jurisdictions limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, dangerous individuals remain in communities longer than they otherwise would.
Republican lawmakers have praised the revival of the VOICE office as an important step toward acknowledging victims whose suffering they say was overlooked under previous administrations. The Trump administration has also signed Executive Order 14157 designating the Sinaloa cartel and other Mexican drug organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, a move Father Doug Quets said he found meaningful.
Border security proponents contend that comprehensive reform must include increased detention capacity, faster asylum processing and significant investments in physical barriers and surveillance technology. They argue that legal immigration systems should be streamlined while enforcement against those who enter illegally without valid claims must be consistent and predictable.
What the Numbers Show
According to DHS and ICE data, the VOICE office has fielded nearly 900 calls over the past year since its relaunch. Victims and family members accounted for 87% of callers, who collectively reported 815 crimes linked to immigration violations including homicides, sexual assaults and violent attacks.
The specific cases highlighted by DHS include Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old killed in a crash caused by an illegal immigrant driving drunk; Nicholas Quets, a 31-year-old Marine Corps veteran shot and killed in Mexico by individuals affiliated with the Sinaloa cartel on October 18, 2024; and Dalilah Coleman, who suffered catastrophic injuries in a separate crash involving an illegal immigrant.
Federal immigration statistics show that removals and returns have fluctuated significantly across administrations. According to ICE enforcement metrics, interior arrests have varied based on departmental priorities and budget allocations. The number of individuals detained for immigration violations has also shifted with changes to detention bed funding.
The Bottom Line
The Angel Dads program represents one component of an ongoing national debate over how to balance border security, humanitarian obligations and public safety. For families like those of Katie Abraham, Joe Abraham said they believe efforts to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens can help prevent similar tragedies from happening to other American families.
For Doug Quets, whose son Nicholas was killed by cartel-affiliated individuals in Mexico, the designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations represents a meaningful shift in how such cases are treated at the federal level. He said previous administrations did not adequately address what he described as threats emanating from uncontrolled border policies.
What both sides agree on is that families who have lost loved ones deserve support and recognition. Where they diverge is on the root causes of such crimes and which policy approaches most effectively prevent future tragedies. The VOICE office will continue to serve as a resource for affected families regardless of how broader immigration debates unfold in Congress.