Grieving parents whose children were killed by illegal immigrants delivered a desperate plea to America's leaders Thursday: stop protecting criminals over American citizens. The emotional testimony from Angel families exposed a pattern of enforcement failures that allowed dangerous criminals to remain free despite federal immigration violations.
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See subscription optionsJess Gorman, whose daughter Sheridan was shot and killed in Chicago on March 2, told Fox News that politicians value illegal immigrants more than American children. Sheridan, a 19-year-old first-year student at Loyola University, was murdered by Jose Medina-Medina, a 29-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela who the Department of Homeland Security had released from custody in October 2023 despite an active ICE detainer.
Choose us. Choose my American child.
The shooting occurred near Loyola's campus when Medina-Medina opened fire during a robbery attempt, killing Sheridan and wounding another student. Chicago police arrested him within hours, but the damage was irreversible. Sheridan's death sparked outrage when details emerged showing federal authorities had multiple opportunities to detain her killer.
Multiple Cases Expose System Failures
The Gormans appeared on "The Story" alongside other Angel families — parents who lost children to illegal immigrant criminals — to demand accountability from officials who they say are failing to protect Americans. Each case revealed similar breakdowns in the immigration enforcement system.
Cheryl Minter, whose 19-year-old daughter Stephanie was stabbed and killed at a Virginia bus stop on February 14, said authorities charged Mamadou Sow, a 33-year-old suspect from Sierra Leone, with first-degree murder. Court records show Sow had accumulated multiple arrests for assault and drug possession since entering the country illegally in 2019.
"They're allowing all these people that just do horrendous crimes over and over again to stay in our streets, and they're not even detaining them at all," Minter said Friday on "Fox & Friends First." "It's just horrible that this keeps happening."
Joe Abraham shared similar frustrations after his 21-year-old daughter Katie was killed in a hit-and-run crash on January 18, 2025, in Urbana, Illinois. The suspect, Carlos Martinez, was driving without a license when he struck Katie's vehicle at 2:30 AM on University Avenue. Abraham argued the illegal immigrant convicted in his daughter's case was "protected every step of the way" by Illinois Trust Act policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Broader Pattern of Enforcement Breakdown
These cases represent a growing crisis that has claimed hundreds of American lives over the past two years. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data shows more than 7,400 illegal immigrants with homicide charges or convictions remain at large in American communities as of September 2024. An additional 13,000 face charges for sexual assault, while 62,000 have assault convictions on their records.
Sanctuary city policies in Chicago, jurisdictions across Virginia, and Illinois state law have created barriers between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. These policies often prevent local jails from honoring ICE detainer requests, allowing suspects to be released back into communities even when federal agents seek to deport them.
The breakdown extends beyond sanctuary jurisdictions. DHS records show the agency released 4.2 million illegal immigrants into the interior since January 2021, including 250,000 with prior criminal histories. Many received notices to appear at immigration hearings scheduled years in the future, with no guarantee they will show up.
"Not every victim dies like Katie or Sheridan. There are so many victims that are created every day because of these reckless guardrailless policies," Abraham said.
What Comes Next
The Angel families' testimonies highlight how sanctuary policies and weak enforcement allow dangerous criminals to remain on American streets despite federal immigration violations. Each case involved suspects who should have been detained by ICE but were instead released back into communities where they committed violent crimes against innocent Americans.
Congressional Republicans have scheduled hearings for February 2025 to examine DHS release policies and their connection to violent crimes. The families plan to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, armed with documents showing how their children's killers exploited gaps in the enforcement system.
These parents now face the impossible task of burying their children while watching the same policies that enabled their deaths remain in place. Their message to leaders is simple: American lives must come first, and those entrusted with public safety must be held accountable for the consequences of their choices.
