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Jessica and Tom Gorman, whose daughter Sheridan was murdered in March, tell her story in “Protect.” In “How Many,” Congressman Lawler asks how many more lives must be lost to sanctuary policies. Both follow a debate where Conley would not give the Gormans a yes or no on the policy her own website endorses.

Pearl River, NY — September 30, 2026…  Congressman Mike Lawler today launched two new 30-second television ads, “Protect” and “How Many.” The ads, part of a seven-figure buy, share the heartbreaking story of Yorktown’s Sheridan Gorman, and how sanctuary laws like the one Governor Hochul signed and Cait Conley supports were to blame for Sheridan’s death. Sheridan’s parents asked both candidates their position on the issue during Monday night’s News 12 debate. 

Sheridan was an 18-year-old freshman at Loyola University Chicago. She was shot in the back on a Rogers Park pier in the early hours of March 19 while she and her friends were out to photograph the northern lights. The man charged with her murder, Jose Medina of Venezuela, entered the country illegally, was released by Border Patrol in May 2023, and had an open warrant for failing to appear on a 2023 shoplifting charge.

In “Protect,” Sheridan’s parents tell her story themselves. “I thought I knew what sanctuary city policies are. I didn’t,” Jessica Gorman says. “It was a death sentence for our daughter,” Tom Gorman says. “The sanctuary policies being pushed by Kathy Hochul and Democrats killed our daughter.” The Gormans say voters “need to choose leaders who choose us,” and that is why they are choosing Mike Lawler. The ad ends with Tom saying, “I couldn’t protect her from these policies,” and Jessica answering, “But Mike Lawler can.”

Watch “Protect”

“How Many” opens on media coverage of Sheridan’s murder and then turns to Lawler, speaking directly to camera. “How many more lives must be lost before Cait Conley and Kathy Hochul get the message?” he asks. The ad takes on Governor Hochul’s Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which bars local governments and police departments in New York from entering into 287(g) agreements with ICE. The ban took effect August 25. Attorney General Letitia James told the 12 agencies that had those agreements to unwind them and said her office is “prepared to enforce the law.” Lawler closes the ad: “We can’t let the violent criminals win, even if Cait Conley and Kathy Hochul are protecting them.”

Watch “How Many”

The Gormans put that law to both candidates on Monday night’s News 12 debate. “Do you support New York’s new law, yes or no?” they asked. “And would you support federal legislation that would override state laws like this one?” Conley spoke for a full minute. She said her “heart absolutely breaks” and that “government failed” Sheridan, then turned to border security and the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. She did not say yes or no to either question.

Her own campaign website already has an answer. Under the heading “Fixing a Broken Immigration System,” Conley’s policy page calls for “Revoking 287g agreements so that local police can focus on protecting their own communities.” That is exactly what Hochul’s law does.

“Jessica and Tom Gorman asked Cait Conley a yes or no question about the law that ended the five-second phone call between local police and ICE. She gave them a minute of talking points and never answered,” said Lawler for Congress spokesman Ciro Riccardi. “Her own website says she wants to revoke 287(g) agreements. Why couldn’t she say that to Sheridan’s parents?”

Lawler answered the Gormans on the spot. “Jess and Tom, what you didn’t hear from Cait was an answer to your question,” he said. “I stand with you. I am against Kathy Hochul’s disastrous new law, and I support any legislation that will end sanctuary jurisdictions in this country.” The Gormans have stood with Lawler against the law since July, when they joined him at the Yorktown Police Department to urge Governor Hochul to change course. In an August op-ed, Lawler wrote that Hochul “should immediately call the Legislature back into session and repeal this disastrous law.”

“Cait Conley’s tone deaf response to grieving parents, and refusal to break with the radicals in her own party on sanctuary policies is disqualifying for a candidate who wants to represent the Hudson Valley in Congress,” concluded Riccardi. 

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