In Washington on a Thursday in late September 2026, parents who had buried children gathered before cameras and officials to ask a question that no policy document has yet answered: how does a society weigh the grief of the few against the governance of the many, and who is responsible when the system fails both? Jessica Gorman, whose eighteen-year-old daughter Sheridan was shot near a Chicago waterfront by a man who had already passed through the hands of law enforcement, and Stephen Federico, whose daughter Logan was killed by a man arrested thirty-nine times, came not as partisans but as wi
Mother of slain student accuses Democratic lawmakers of dismissing 'angel families' at hearing
Sheridan Gorman, 18, was shot and killed near a Chicago pier; Logan Federico was killed during a home break-in at the University of South Carolina.
We were all insulted by Democrat Representative Jayapal
Mark
What exactly happened at this hearing? Was it a typical congressional proceeding?
Mimi
It was a House hearing on sanctuary city policies—the fourth one Congress had held on that topic. Families who'd lost loved ones were invited to testify. Jessica Gorman got five minutes to talk about her daughter's death.
Luke
Five minutes to tell the story of losing an eighteen-year-old. That's the constraint we're working with here.
Mark
And Jayapal's comment about "other things we could be doing"—did she say that directly to Gorman, or was it a general remark?
Mimi
Gorman says Jayapal made the remark during the hearing itself, and Gorman interpreted it as directed at her and the other families testifying. Gorman felt it was dismissive.
Luke
We should note: Jayapal's office hasn't responded to requests for comment. We're hearing Gorman's account of what happened and how she experienced it.
Mark
What about Nadler allegedly napping?
Mimi
Gorman accused him of napping in the corner during the proceedings. That's her observation from where she was sitting.
Luke
Again, we don't have Nadler's account or independent confirmation of that specific claim. It's what Gorman witnessed or believed she witnessed.
Mark
And the other father—Federico—his case was different?
Mimi
Completely different. His daughter was killed by an American career criminal, not an undocumented immigrant. But the man had been arrested thirty-nine times and was still on the street.
Luke
Which raises a different set of questions about bail, prosecution, the courts—not immigration policy. Both stories were told at the same event, but they're pointing at different systemic problems.
Mark
So the administration was using this event to highlight both issues?
Mimi
Yes. Top DOJ and administration officials were there to honor victims. It signals where they're focusing politically.
O Pulso
- A mother who lost her daughter to a man the system had already caught and released found herself laughed at by lawmakers while testifying before Congress.
- A Venezuelan national charged with murder had been freed after a shoplifting arrest in Chicago — the very city whose sanctuary policies were under scrutiny at the hearing.
- A father whose daughter was killed during a home break-in confronted a different failure: a thirty-year-old man with thirty-nine prior arrests who was never kept off the street.
- Rep. Jayapal's remark that there were 'other things' to do besides hear more family testimony became a flashpoint, crystallizing the families' sense that their grief was being managed rather than heard.
- With the Attorney General, FBI Director, and Border Czar all present at the Washington gathering, the administration signaled it intends to carry these stories directly into the approaching election cycle.
In Washington on a Thursday in late September 2026, parents who had buried children gathered before cameras and officials to ask a question that no policy document has yet answered: how does a society weigh the grief of the few against the governance of the many, and who is responsible when the system fails both? Jessica Gorman, whose eighteen-year-old daughter Sheridan was shot near a Chicago waterfront by a man who had already passed through the hands of law enforcement, and Stephen Federico, whose daughter Logan was killed by a man arrested thirty-nine times, came not as partisans but as witnesses to the cost of institutional indifference. Their testimony, met in one chamber with laughter and in another with apparent sleep, became its own kind of verdict on the distance between those who make policy and those who live inside its consequences.
Jessica Gorman came to Washington carrying the fact of her daughter's death. Sheridan Gorman was eighteen, a student at Loyola University Chicago, shot and killed in March 2026 near a pier on the city's waterfront. The man charged with the murder had entered the country illegally and had been released from Chicago custody after a shoplifting arrest. At a House hearing on sanctuary city policies — the fourth such hearing Congress had convened — Gorman was given five minutes to speak. What she remembers most is the laughter from the Democratic side of the room.
She reserved particular criticism for Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who had remarked during the proceedings that there were other things Congress could be doing besides hearing more testimony from these families. Gorman heard it as contempt — not just for her five minutes, but for every family in the room. She also accused Rep. Jerry Nadler of sleeping in the corner during the hearing, framing his inattention as its own form of dismissal. The gathering where she made these remarks included the Attorney General, the FBI Director, the Border Czar, and the Drug Czar, all assembled to honor victims of violent crime.
Stephen Federico testified alongside her, but his story pointed somewhere different. His daughter Logan was killed during a home break-in at the University of South Carolina — not by an undocumented immigrant, but by a thirty-year-old American man who had been arrested thirty-nine times and remained free. Federico named the failures plainly: fingerprint problems, process failures, prosecutors and judges who did not hold the line. His question was simple and went unanswered — how does someone with that record stay on the street? Together, the two parents framed a hearing that offered no resolution, only the ongoing weight of what had already been lost.
Jessica Gorman stood before Congress on Thursday with the weight of a single fact: her daughter Sheridan, eighteen years old and a student at Loyola University Chicago, was shot and killed in March 2026 near a pier and lighthouse on Chicago's waterfront. The man charged with the murder is Jose Medina, a Venezuelan national who entered the country illegally and had been released from custody following a shoplifting arrest in the same city.
Gorman was invited to testify at a House hearing on sanctuary city policies—the fourth such hearing Congress had held on the subject. She was given five minutes to tell the story of her daughter's death. What she remembers most vividly is not the time constraint itself, but the sound of laughter from Democratic lawmakers as she spoke. "And I thought to myself, boy, the hits just keep on coming," she said Thursday at a gathering in Washington where Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Border Czar Tom Homan, and Drug Czar Sara Carter had assembled to honor victims of violent crime.
Gorman singled out Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, for particular criticism. During the hearing, Jayapal had remarked that there were "many other things we could be doing" besides hearing more testimony from families who had lost loved ones. Gorman interpreted this as a dismissal not just of her time, but of the families themselves—what she called "angel families." "We were all insulted by Democrat Representative Jayapal telling me—literally telling me—and all the other angel families in the room, with disdain on her face, that there's other things they could be doing except listening to four sessions," Gorman said. She added that Jayapal should have listened to everyone in the room, not walked away after the fourth hearing.
Gorman also accused Rep. Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, of napping in the corner during the proceedings. The accusation carried its own weight: inattention as a form of dismissal.
Another parent testified that day. Stephen Federico's daughter Logan was killed during a home break-in at the University of South Carolina. But Federico's case pointed to a different failure in the criminal justice system. The man accused of shooting and killing his daughter, Alexander Dickey, was thirty years old and a career criminal with dozens of prior arrests. Dickey had been arrested thirty-nine times. Yet he remained on the street. "My daughter wasn't killed by an illegal alien," Federico said. "She was killed by a home-grown American career criminal that we arrested 39 damn times. And he was on the street. Tell me that makes sense."
Federico's frustration extended beyond a single defendant. He pointed to systemic failures: fingerprint problems, process problems, weak judges, weak prosecutors. The question he posed was direct and unanswered: how does a felon with that record stay free? The hearing, like the ones before it, offered no resolution. Fox News Digital reached out to Jayapal's office for comment but had not received a response at the time of reporting.
Citações Notáveis
We were all insulted by Democrat Representative Jayapal telling me—literally telling me—and all the other angel families in the room, with disdain on her face, that there's other things they could be doing except listening to four sessions.— Jessica Gorman, mother of Sheridan Gorman
My daughter wasn't killed by an illegal alien. She was killed by a home-grown American career criminal that we arrested 39 damn times. And he was on the street.— Stephen Federico, father of Logan Federico
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