WATCH: Dems still unclear on whether murderer accused of coming to the country illegally should have been deported
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While Republican senators, such as Texas’ Ted Cruz and Florida’s Rick Scott, were quick to criticize the policies that prevent the illegal killer of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman from being deported, Democratic senators avoided questions about whether Gorman’s killer should have been deported before this month’s execution.
Gorman, who was a student at Loyola University of Chicago at the time of his death, was allegedly killed by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Medina, 25. Medina was apprehended by the US Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, but was later released to the US under the Biden administration, according to Trump’s Department of Homeland Security.
A short time later, Medina was arrested for theft in Chicago, but was released again on June 19, 2023, DHS said. A judge issued a warrant for Medina after he failed to appear in court on his shoplifting charge, which was still active at the time of Gorman’s murder, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
“Shoplifting in itself is not a violent crime. It is not an indication of someone who is addicted to violent crime,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., when asked about Medina’s case and whether he should have been deported before Gorman’s murder.
AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECTED OF KILLING A CHICAGO COLLEGE STUDENT WILL GO IN COURT AFTER A DELAYED CHEST ILLNESS.
Sheridan Gorman (L) accused of killing Jose Medina (R) (Sheridan Gorman/Instagram and Cook County Sheriff’s Office)
“You’re asking me to think about a lot of things and I can’t answer that,” said Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., when asked if Gorman’s killer, and other killers of illegal immigrants who had significant criminal records when they were arrested, should have been deported before people got hurt. “I don’t know the charges. I hope our justice system will do the right thing and hold people accountable.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., countered that the Trump administration’s sweeping deportations have prevented law enforcement from targeting truly dangerous people, an argument echoed by some top Democrats in Congress. “I think if Trump removed Chicago and if ICE did its job, he wouldn’t be here, right?” Duckworth said as he boarded the elevator on Capitol Hill. “But they are firing people who are not there… [unintelligible].”
Meanwhile, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., offered a reasonable response, but also suggested the style in which the Trump administration is deporting people is problematic.
“Do I think violent criminals should be deported? Yes,” Slotkin said, adding that it’s an “easy call” to deport someone who was “accused and properly prosecuted.” But, Slotkin added, “Innocent citizens protesting their government and exercising their freedom of speech should not be fingered and deported.”
Democrats who spoke to Fox News Digital quickly agreed that violent criminals who enter and live in the country illegally should be deported.
From left to right: Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. (Getty Images)
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“Anyone who violates, or creates a crime in this country – especially one who kills someone – should not only be held accountable in the United States, but, yes, there should be immigration enforcement against that person,” Cortez-Masto said.
“Every community deserves to feel safe, and I think that people who commit violent crimes should not be allowed in our country, or in our communities,” added Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md.
Durbin, on the other hand, justified his comments about the Medina shoplifting case by admitting that “We have to carefully vet people who come to this country and those who want to stay in this country,” adding, “If they are a danger to society, they need to be denied entry or removed from the country at a later date.”
But Republican Senators Cruz and Scott quickly blasted Democrats for allegedly caring more about illegal immigrants than American citizens.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) holds a press conference with families who lost loved ones in the January 29, 2025 DCA plane crash on December 15, 2025 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
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“It was tragic and it was avoidable,” Cruz said when asked about Gorman’s death and that Medina was not deported. “The most extreme Democrats prioritize illegal immigrants over American citizens.”
“It’s disgusting that these people say, ‘Oh, they pretend they care about the American people.’ But then you look at their actions – they care about the people who are here torturing the American people,” Scott complained.
