Sheridan Gorman and the Cruel Politics of 'But'

Jessica Gorman didn't come to Congress as a slogan; she came as Sheridan Grace Gorman's mother, carrying a wound no committee room could hold.

Sheridan was 18 and a Loyola University Chicago freshman, “beautiful, funny, faithful, loving, and full of plans,” as her mother wrote.

She went to the Chicago lakefront with friends on March 19, 2026, hoping to see the Northern Lights.

Sheridan never had the chance to see those lights.

Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national identified by federal officials as being in the country without legal permission, or as the rest of us would say, an illegal immigrant, is charged with first-degree murder in Sheridan's death. He pleaded not guilty.

Local investigators said Medina approached Sheridan and her friends near Tobey Prinz Beach, pulled a gun, and fired into the group. A later jail search found a 6-inch shank in his possession, and prosecutors approved a new felony contraband charge.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement called the hearing “Sanctuary Policies: Victims' Perspectives.” Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and the subcommittee chairman put Jessica before Congress because parents don't bury theories.

They bury children.

Her testimony, I felt, was devastating.

Jessica's testimony hit me hard. When my middle daughter was born in December 1996, the hospital screening came back positive for cystic fibrosis. For four weeks, my world narrowed to waiting, reading, praying, crying, and staring at a baby I was terrified I might lose. We had to wait for her sweat glands to mature enough to collect samples.

The follow-up test showed she was a carrier, not sick. Relief came, and so did a bond forged in helpless fear.

A parent who has stared at even the possibility of losing a child recognizes the place in the chest Jessica reached. She spoke of Sheridan's little hands, her first trip home, her joy, her childhood kindness, and the girl who made lonely kids feel seen.

Jessica wasn't asking Washington to feel sad for five minutes; she was asking it to remember its first duty.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and ranking member of the immigration subcommittee, opened with condolences, then argued the hearing was the fourth such session on sanctuary cities and should've focused on President Donald Trump's enforcement policies.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, also offered sympathy, then used his opening to attack Trump's immigration agenda and defend limits on local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

But. . .

There it was, the word Jessica caught and every grieving parent understands: but. “We are sorry for your loss, but…” 

After the word comes the priority, after the word comes the real answer, and after the word comes the place where Sheridan gets moved behind sanctuary policy, party messaging, and officials who will never have to identify their child's body.

Democrats can say they support safety; they can say violent offenders should be punished, and they can say they love immigrants, as Jessica herself did when she honored legal immigration.

Yet when the sentence turns, Americans hear the order of concern. The dead child comes first as courtesy; the illegal immigrant comes next as policy.

A government can debate asylum rules, detainers, police resources, and federal powers. No one should fear a hard argument; yet the argument has to start with the right life in the center of the room.

Sheridan's life wasn't a rounding error in a bigger cause; she was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a young woman who should be finishing her freshman year.

Jessica Gorman did more than testify; she drew the line Washington kept dodging. Sympathy without action is only performance; compassion that asks parents to bury children is cruelty wearing nicer clothes.

Every Democrat who says “I'm sorry, but" should be made to finish the sentence in front of Jessica Gorman. Sheridan Gorman and the cruel politics of “but” should haunt every lawmaker who heard her mother speak.

The word after the condolences told the truth.

PJ Media VIP is 60% off right now with promo code FIGHT. If you want the stories, context, and sharp analysis legacy outlets keep trying to bury, now’s the time to join us and help keep independent conservative journalism alive.