Mother of Sheridan Gorman, Loyola student who was shot and killed, testifies on Capitol Hill

The mother of a Loyola University freshman who was shot and killed in March delivered tearful testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Jose Medina is charged in the murder of Sheridan Gorman, 18, of Yorktown, New York, in Westchester County. Gorman was walking with her friends near the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach at Pratt Boulevard shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, March 19, when Gorman told her friends she saw someone hiding behind the lighthouse.

Medina was a Venezuelan national who was in the U.S. illegally.

During a hearing before a U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on sanctuary policies, Jessica Gorman described her daughter as the girl who always waited for others on her grade school's buddy bench.

Jessica Gorman challenged lawmakers to sit together to work out solutions.

"And I challenge you all to sit down with me, take my hand, kook me in the eye, and then explain to me — because I just don't understand — explain why people here illegally matter more than your American citizens," said Jessica Gorman. "Explain why sanctuary policies matter more than my Sheridan's life."

The father of Katie Abraham also testified. Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago was launched in Abraham's honor after she was killed by a drunken driver.

U.S. House Republicans are pushing new legislation that would create legal liability for sanctuary cities that don't cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.