Loyola Student Paper Called Murder Suspect ‘Illegal’ — Then Apologized

Loyola University Chicago’s student newspaper, The Loyola Phoenix, issued an apology and a lengthy editor’s note after initially identifying the suspect in freshman Sheridan Gorman’s murder as an “illegal immigrant.”

The paper’s original headline read, “Immigrant man charged in murder of Sheridan Gorman, DHS involved” — and the story correctly identified suspect Jose Medina-Medina as an “illegal immigrant.” Medina-Medina, 25, is a Venezuelan national who the Department of Homeland Security said had been “living in the United States illegally.”

The paper later edited the story to identify Medina-Medina as simply a “Rogers Park Resident,” and included a lengthy editor’s note apologizing for the previous characterization.

“That headline didn’t reflect the most important elements in the story, and it was taken down minutes later to prevent any further harm to affected community members,” the note read. “Additionally, in the body of the original post, we described the man who was charged as an ‘illegal immigrant,’ using language provided by the Department of Homeland Security. That language does not align with Associated Press style, nor does it align with the values of this newspaper … No human’s existence is illegal, and we quickly changed our wording to reflect that.”

The White House issued a statement on the murder, blaming liberal sanctuary city policies that protect illegal aliens in cities like Chicago: “A preventable tragedy. Sheridan Gorman was murdered by an illegal alien released into the U.S. in 2023 under the Biden administration — a direct result of failed border & sanctuary city policies.”

When a reporter asked Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson whether he’d apologize to Gorman’s parents — for the sanctuary policies that had allowed Medina-Medina to live in Chicago — he opted instead to point the finger at President Donald Trump: “He points the finger at everything and everyone else versus doing some real self-reflection on what his responsibility is.”