House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) didn’t specify whether the undocumented individual charged with the murder of Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman should face deportation if found guilty.
In a conversation with Fox News Congressional Correspondent Bill Melgin at the Capitol, Jeffries was asked, “An illegal immigrant was charged with murdering a college student in Chicago last week. Do House Democrats think he is someone who should be deported if convicted?”
“I’ll look into the case,” Jeffries responded as he walked away, providing no further details.
This inquiry pertains to the tragic death of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, a freshman at Loyola University Chicago. Gorman was reportedly shot on March 19 near Toby Prinz Beach in the Rogers Park area. Prosecutors have accused 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, of chasing Gorman and friends along the pier and firing at them as they tried to escape, hitting Gorman in the process.
Authorities indicate that Medina-Medina was apprehended at the southern border on May 9, 2023, and released into the U.S. under the previous administration’s catch-and-release policy. He was arrested about a month later in Chicago for suspected shoplifting, but due to local protection policies, he wasn’t handed over to federal immigration authorities and was released. He currently faces several charges, including first-degree murder, and remains in custody.
Officials from various levels of government have responded to the incident.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (Democrat) criticized federal actions, stating, “The Trump administration needs to stop politicizing violent tragedies and instead focus on practical solutions, like restoring federal violence prevention funding to support security efforts.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) defended the city’s sanctuary policies, referencing the Welcoming City Ordinance passed four decades ago by Chicago’s first Black mayor. He remarked, “If there’s an illegal issue in this country, it’s all about the Trump administration.”
City Councilwoman Maria Hadden expressed that the incident might have been accidental, suggesting it was a case of “being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” and that the group may have startled the shooter at the pier’s end.
Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) cautioned that tragedies like the one involving Gorman could persist, questioning, “If she is breaking the law and is already here illegally, why can’t we agree to deport her?” Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza also called for legal action, insisting, “Arrest him, prosecute him and banish him to a prison in El Salvador.”
