Illegal Killer Flagged as Flight Risk Before Release
Internal documents reveal the killer of Loyola student Sheridan Gorman was flagged as a flight risk with no valid asylum claim yet released twice. Her family calls for accountability.
Border Patrol flagged him as likely to abscond. He had no valid asylum claim, no close family ties, no verifiable address. Yet officials released him anyway — twice — into the country. Three years later, that decision ended Sheridan Gorman's life.
Internal documents obtained by Fox News reveal Jose Medina-Medina, the Venezuelan illegal immigrant charged with murdering 18-year-old Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman, was flagged as a flight risk with no valid asylum claim before being released into the U.S. Border Patrol documents show the May 9, 2023 encounter found the subject "likely to abscond" with "no immigration documents" despite "close family ties or roots in this country."
The documents released by the House Judiciary Committee show Border Patrol released Medina-Medina on recognizance "due to lack of space." He stated he did "not fear harm or persecution" if returned to Venezuela, indicating no valid asylum claim. He had no valid U.S. address or identification and could not provide a verifiable point of contact.
Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola freshman from Yorktown Heights, NY, was shot and killed March 19, 2026, at approximately 1:06 a.m. She was walking with friends on Tobey Prinz Beach pier in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood when she spotted the suspect hiding behind a lighthouse. As she and her friends fled, Medina-Medina emerged wearing black clothing and a mask, firing one shot that struck Gorman in the upper back. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Medina-Medina's documented history shows systemic failures at multiple levels. After his initial release in May 2023, he was arrested June 19, 2023 for shoplifting at a Chicago Macy's. He was released again, failed to appear for court, and had an active warrant until his murder arrest nearly three years later. DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated, "She was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who RELEASED this illegal alien TWICE before he went on to commit this heinous murder."
ICE lodged an arrest detainer on March 22, 2026, but Illinois state law prohibits county jails from honoring immigration detainers. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson refused to apologize when directly asked about the policies that allowed the suspect in the city. "Once again, I believe that we're all grieving the loss of Sheridan and other folks who have lost their lives because of senseless violence," Johnson said March 24.
The mayor defended sanctuary ordinances passed 40 years ago and the SAFE-T Act. "The welcoming city policy dates back over 40 years to Chicago's first Black mayor, Harold Washington, who issued a sanctuary city executive order in 1985, and the SAFE-T Act was passed in 2021 under Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker," Johnson said.
Gorman's family issued a statement directly connecting policy failures to their daughter's death. "We are gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime," the family stated. "When systems fail—whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act—the consequences are not abstract. They are real. And in our case, they are permanent."
The family added, "Sheridan was doing something entirely normal—walking near her campus with friends. She should be here. The system failed her."
Medina-Medina's defense attorney, Julie Koehler, claims he has the brain capacity "of a child" and was shot in the head in Colombia in 2018, leaving bullet fragments. She claims he requested deportation to Colombia but was bused to Chicago instead. The governor's office has no record of this busing claim.
Judge D'Anthony Thedford ordered Medina-Medina detained pending trial on March 27. The suspect remains quarantined at Cermak Health Services in Cook County Jail after being diagnosed with tuberculosis contracted in a Chicago migrant shelter during 2023-2024.
He faces state charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon. Federal prosecutors added a charge of illegal possession of a firearm on April 2, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
The case comes amid broader scrutiny of sanctuary policies. DHS sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General calling on the state to honor ICE detainers for more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens. Sen. Eric Schmitt convened a Senate Judiciary hearing on sanctuary cities March 25 titled "Protecting American Citizenship II: Federalism, Sanctuary Cities, and the Rule of Law."
President Donald Trump addressed the case in March. "This person came in through the open door policy of [former President] Joe Biden and we have others," Trump said. "We're taking them out by the tens of thousands. We're doing a great job, but it's a shame."
Medina-Medina's arraignment is scheduled for April 29, 2026. The Gorman family continues to call for accountability beyond the criminal case. "Our daughter is not a policy debate," they stated. "She is a life that was taken, and that demands accountability. Calling this a tragedy is not enough. There must be a full and transparent accounting of what went wrong."