Sen. John Fetterman criticized his fellow Democrats on Tuesday over their tepid response to the fatal shooting of a college freshman in Chicago, allegedly by an illegal immigrant.
Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan, shot and killed 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman on Thursday, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Long before the shooting, he had been apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol twice and released under the Biden administration, the department said.
Mr. Fetterman, Pennsylvania Democrat, asked on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” “Why can’t we just acknowledge that this is a serious, serious failure?”
The proponent of the Laken Riley Act, which requires DHS to detain certain immigrants who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting, Mr. Fetterman said he does not understand why lawmakers do not agree that if someone in the U.S. illegally is breaking the law, they should be deported.
Mr. Medina-Medina faced a misdemeanor charge in 2023 for shoplifting, but a warrant was issued for his arrest after he did not appear for his hearing.
“I just don’t understand. And then tragedies, just what happened to that young woman, they are going to continue to happen. It’s just — that’s justice. That’s beyond common sense. Why can’t you just support this? Why is that unreasonable to anybody?” Mr. Fetterman said.
He said he guesses that Democrats are afraid of their base, noting that he has faced backlash for opinions that are not in line with the majority of his party.
“That puts me at odds with parts of my party,” he said. “But I’d rather be on the moral clarities or on the kinds of right side of history or the correct kinds of principles.”
DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said the department is calling on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to “commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.”
“Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life. 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,” she said in a Sunday statement.
Mr. Pritzker condemned the “senseless murder.”
“Violent crime has no place in our streets, and we expect the alleged perpetrator to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he said in a statement. “The Trump Administration needs to stop politicizing heinous tragedies and instead focus on real solutions, like reinstating federal funds to prevent violence that support our public safety efforts.”
• Mary McCue Bell can be reached at mbell@washingtontimes.com.
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