Senate Hearing on Sanctuary City Policies
Angel parents are set to testify before the Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans ramp up their examination of sanctuary city policies following the tragic shooting of Chicago student Sheridan Gorman, allegedly by an illegal immigrant.
Joe Abraham, who lost his daughter in a hit-and-run accident caused by an illegal immigrant last year, will address a Senate Judiciary subcommittee regarding the sanctuary city law. He argues it contributed to the deaths of his daughter, Katie Abraham, and Gorman.
“An 18-year-old college student, just beginning her journey in life, was murdered,” Abraham expressed in a recent op-ed. “This incident prompts the same distressing questions about policy, enforcement, and accountability.”
Abraham’s daughter was killed when a drunk illegal immigrant crashed into her vehicle and fled. The driver, Julio Cucurbor, was later convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Cucurbor, originally from Guatemala, had been deported from the U.S. in 2016, according to officials.
The hearing, titled “Protecting American Civil Rights II: Federalism, Sanctuary Cities, and the Rule of Law,” will be led by Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), who chairs the Senate Constitution Subcommittee.
Schmitt noted that this hearing had been planned before Gorman’s death but remarked, “Sadly, this won’t be the last time we confront these policies.”
He emphasized the implications of sanctuary cities: “These jurisdictions don’t notify ICE when criminals, including rapists and murderers, are released from prison. That’s simply unacceptable.”
During the Senate floor session on Tuesday, Schmitt read a statement from the Gorman family but mentioned he hadn’t personally spoken with them. “As a father, I can only fathom the grief they must feel,” he said.
“You don’t expect this kind of tragedy when you send your daughter to college, but it’s entirely preventable,” he added.
This hearing will scrutinize the legal and policy ramifications of sanctuary cities, assessing their effect on federal immigration enforcement, public safety, and the constitutional balance between federal and state powers.
It marks the first public hearing on the issue since Gorman’s death. Her alleged assailant, Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, was arrested last Friday on various charges, including first-degree murder.
Medina-Medina had previously been detained twice in 2023, first by U.S. Border Patrol and later for shoplifting in Illinois, but was released on both occasions.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s policies are likely to come under scrutiny during this hearing. Joe Abraham will be joined by former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Jessica Vaughan, a policy research director at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Abraham is also seeking accountability regarding Governor Pritzker’s policies. In another op-ed, he mentioned reaching out to Pritzker for answers about the sanctuary policies he supports, stating, “I have requested a response by January 19, 2026, marking one year since Katie’s death. So far, I’ve received nothing.”
