The Family Who Lost Everything

Sheridan Gorman was only 18. A daughter, a sister, a freshman in college with her entire life ahead of her. On a quiet Thursday morning, she set out with friends to capture the northern lights over Lake Michigan from a pier near Loyola University Chicago's campus.
Sheridan never came home. With a pull of the trigger, the Gorman family was shattered. The daughter and sister they had raised and loved for 18 years was gone.

As they searched for answers, they discovered the man responsible for her murder, Jose Medina, was an illegal alien from Venezuela who had already encountered law enforcement before he ended Sheridan’s life.

Sheridan’s life has touched many despite its tragic ending, including Lora Ries, Director of Border and Immigration Security at The Heritage Foundation. With a career dedicated to immigration and border security, Lora helps uncover how policy becomes reality, and how decisions made in Washington can have life-altering consequences for families across America.
This Heritage Foundation-produced documentary highlights the Gormans’ story and their fight to ensure that no other family experiences the same loss.
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