U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has asked Illinois officials to hold an illegal alien accused of murdering an 18-year-old Loyola University student in Chicago, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
DHS identified the suspect as Jose Medina-Medina, who is accused of killing Sheridan Gorman early Thursday morning while she walked through a park with friends.
According to DHS, Medina-Medina approached Gorman while wearing a mask and carrying a gun. As she attempted to flee, he fired and shot her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
ICE has lodged an arrest detainer and is asking Illinois officials not to release Medina-Medina from custody.
“Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a DHS statement. “We are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.”
DHS said Medina-Medina was released twice before the killing — first after U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him on May 9, 2023, and later by Chicago authorities following a June 19, 2023, shoplifting arrest in the sanctuary city.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Chicago has designated city-owned spaces as “ICE-free zones,” restricting federal immigration enforcement from operating in those areas without a judicial warrant.
DHS officials have raised concerns about Illinois’ handling of immigration detainers.
In a December 2025 letter, ICE Director Todd Lyons urged Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to cooperate with federal authorities, citing more than 4,000 individuals in state custody with active ICE detainers. DHS said those cases include individuals charged with or convicted of homicide, assault, weapons offenses, and sexual crimes.
ICE also reported that Illinois jurisdictions released 1,768 criminal illegal aliens since January 20, including individuals associated with offenses such as homicide, assault, and sexual predatory crimes.
“Governor Pritzker and his fellow Illinois sanctuary politicians are releasing murderers, pedophiles, and kidnappers back into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at risk,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a prior DHS statement.
DHS said victims of crimes involving illegal aliens may seek assistance through its Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office.
