Chicago killing reignites sanctuary city fight as Angel parent heads to Senate hearing

FIRST ON FOX: An Angel parent is set to testify before the Senate on Wednesday as Republicans intensify scrutiny of sanctuary city policies after the fatal shooting of Chicago student Sheridan Gorman, allegedly by an illegal immigrant.

Joe Abraham, whose daughter was killed in a hit-and-run crash involving an illegal immigrant last year, is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Consitution on Wednesday about sanctuary city laws, which he says led to the deaths of his daughter, Katie Abraham, and Gorman.

"An 18-year-old college student — someone just beginning life — has been killed," Abraham wrote in a Fox News Digital opinion piece on Tuesday. "And once again, the circumstances raise the same painful questions about policy, enforcement and accountability."

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"Once again, we are confronted with the possibility that this tragedy, like the one that took my daughter, might have been prevented," he continued.

Abraham’s daughter was killed when a drunk illegal immigrant crashed into her vehicle and fled the scene. Julio Cucul-Bol was later arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison. 

Authorities said Cucul-Bol, from Guatemala, had previously been deported from the U.S. in 2016. 

The hearing, titled Protecting American Citizenship II: Federalism, Sanctuary Cities, and the Rule of Law, will be led by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.

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Schmitt told Fox News Digital that the hearing had been in the works before Gorman's death, but noted, "sadly, you have these policies in place, this is not going to be the last time."

"I think it's important to highlight in the hearing of what does it means [when] people hear the term [sanctuary cities], what does it mean? It means that sanctuary jurisdictions are just not going to tell ICE when criminals, including rapists and murderers, are being released from jail in prison," Schmitt said. "That's insane." 

Schmitt had just come from the Senate floor Tuesday evening where he read a portion of a statement from the Gorman family. Schmitt said he had not spoken with the family, but said, "as a dad, I can only imagine the grief that they're feeling."

"When you send your daughter off to college, it's just not what you expect, and it's totally preventable," Schmitt said. 

The hearing will focus on the legal and policy issues surrounding sanctuary cities and how those policies affect federal immigration enforcement, public safety and the constitutional balance between federal and state authorities.

It will also be the first hearing on sanctuary city policies following Gorman’s death. Her alleged killer, 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national, was arrested on Friday in connection with the Chicago shooting, and faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder.

Medina-Medina was taken into custody twice in 2023 under the Biden administration, once by U.S. Border Patrol and again for shoplifting in Illinois. He was released both times, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker's policies will likely be a focal point of scrutiny during the hearing, which will feature former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, as witnesses alongside Abraham.

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Abraham has also demanded answers over Pritzker’s policies.

In a separate opinion piece for Fox News Digital, Abraham wrote that he sent a letter to Pritzker seeking answers "about the sanctuary policies he champions."

"I asked for a response by January 19, 2026, the one-year anniversary of Katie’s death," Abraham wrote. "To this day, I have received nothing."