Jamie Raskin Told Lawler to Get Out While the Gorman Family Sat Feet Away

July 4, 2026 Cat2, Illegal Immigration
Gdisalvo via shutterstock

Jessica Gorman flew to Washington to tell Congress what Chicago sanctuary policies cost her daughter.

Then Democrats told her that was the fourth time they'd been forced to hear about it.

And when a congressman stood up to defend her by name, Jamie Raskin told him to get the hell out.

Democrats Called It Repetitive While a Mother Called It Her Life

Sheridan Gorman was 18 years old when Jose Medina-Medina shot her in the back at a Chicago beach pier.

She was running.

"Forty feet – that's how far my daughter ran for her life before evil caught her," Jessica Gorman said at a press conference in June. "Did she know that death was behind her?"

Medina-Medina is a Venezuelan national Biden's Border Patrol released into the country in May 2023.

Chicago arrested him for shoplifting that June – then let him go, because Illinois sanctuary law prevented local police from honoring the ICE detainer on file.

He killed Sheridan Gorman on March 19, 2026.

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis put it plainly: "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."

On Tuesday, Jessica Gorman sat in a House Judiciary Committee hearing room and told all of it to Congress.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) opened by complaining this was the fourth hearing on sanctuary cities and she had better things to do.

"There's many other things that we could be doing," Jayapal said.

She said this in front of a woman whose daughter is dead because of the policies under discussion.

Raskin Explodes When Lawler Names the Victims

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) appeared at the hearing as a guest to introduce Jessica Gorman as a witness.

He said more than that.

Lawler called out Chicago and New York by name, saying those cities "blatantly disregard existing law and provide safe harbor to criminals."

Democrats tried to cut him off – he wasn't following the script.

He kept going.

"The same outrage you feel about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, you should feel about Sheridan Gorman and Laken Riley and every Angel family in this country," Lawler said.

Good and Pretti were anti-ICE protesters shot by federal agents in Minneapolis in January while interfering with immigration enforcement operations.

Democrats have elevated them as martyrs.

Raskin (D-MD) claims they are the real victims of Trump's immigration crackdown.

"I do feel that outrage. You do not," Raskin screamed.

"You do not, because if you did, you would not support sanctuary jurisdictions," Lawler fired back. "You should be ashamed of yourself. You're a disgrace."

Raskin's response: "You don't belong on this committee. You should get the hell out of here!"

Lawler had already written a New York Times op-ed about Good and Pretti's deaths – a fact he threw directly at Raskin on the record.

It didn't matter.

Democrats weren't interested in facts Tuesday. They were interested in protecting the policies that got Sheridan Gorman killed.

The Pattern Four Hearings Have Actually Proved

This is what four congressional hearings on sanctuary cities have demonstrated – not that the issue is exhausted, but that Democrats refuse to change.

Chicago released Jose Medina-Medina after shoplifting in 2023 despite a federal warrant on file.

The same sanctuary framework covers thousands of criminal illegal aliens in Illinois custody right now – ICE Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul last December identifying more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in state custody, including murderers, sexual predators, and those convicted of or charged with weapons offenses.

And 67 percent of American voters say local officials should cooperate with federal immigration authorities on deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.

That's the number.

Two-thirds of the country.

And Raskin screams at the man who brought the victim's mother into the room.

What Tuesday showed is that Democrats have made a deliberate choice – with Angel families sitting in those chairs every time, and the answer is still the same: rules of procedure, whataboutism, and get the hell out.

Jessica Gorman asked the right question in that hearing room: "When did protecting our American citizens stop being your first priority?"

Raskin's answer told the country everything it needed to know.

Sources:

  • Louis Casiano, "Raskin Tells Lawler to 'Get the Hell Out' During Contentious Hearing," Fox News, June 30, 2026.
  • "ICE Asks Governor Pritzker and Chicago Sanctuary Politicians to Not Release Criminal Illegal Alien Accused of Killing 18-Year-Old Loyola College Student," Department of Homeland Security, March 22, 2026.
  • Sister Toldjah, "'You're a Disgrace!' Lawler Unloads on Raskin and Jayapal During Fiery Sanctuary City Hearing," RedState, June 30, 2026.
  • Matt Vespa, "Hearing on Sanctuary Cities Turned Into a Full-Blown Fight Between These Two House Members," Townhall, July 1, 2026.
  • "January 2026 Press Release," Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll, January 2026.