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Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., tore into his Democratic counterparts after a hearing on immigration policies erupted into a heated squabble as the mother of a murder victim killed by an illegal immigrant pleaded to Congress for reforms to sanctuary policies.
In a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Lawler reprimanded Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., for not having sympathy for American victims who were murdered by illegal immigrants — Laken Riley and Sheridan Gorman. The mother of one of those victims, Jessica Gorman, was called as a witness to share her story before the committee .
“They can save me their crocodile tears about they didn’t like my words or they didn’t like the fact that I spoke on policy as part of my introduction,” Lawler told Fox News Digital. “Grow the f—— up.”
ANGEL MOM WARNS DEMOCRATS ‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO STOP’ AFTER EMOTIONAL HOUSE HEARING ON SANCTUARY POLICIES
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last vote of the week on January 9, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“To fully appreciate and understand why Jessica Gorman is here, you actually have to understand what happened to their daughter,” Lawler said.
“The reality is that they didn’t want to hear it. They didn’t want to hear what happened with Sheridan Gorman or that their policies that they support contributed to her death. That’s a fundamental fact.”
The New York Republican accused House Democrats of being more empathetic toward the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, anti-ICE agitators who were shot to death by federal agents earlier this year after they allegedly interfered with law enforcement during protests in Minnesota.
This led to chaos between the two, with Raskin shouting that Lawler didn’t belong on the Judiciary Committee and didn’t understand the Constitution.
RASKIN TELLS LAWLER TO ‘GET THE HELL OUT’ DURING CONTENTIOUS HEARING
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks to reporters outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2021, after meeting with members of the select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing next week. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
He also asked Lawler if he felt any outrage for Good and Pretti.
“I said, ‘if you care about Alex Pretti and Renee Good, you should care as much about Sheridan Gorman,” Lawler said about his exchange with Raskin.
He continued, “The difference is I spoke out about Alex Pretti and Renee Good getting killed. They shouldn’t have died. The reason they died, however, is because sanctuary policies prohibited local law enforcement from cooperating on crowd control and traffic control.”
RASKIN TELLS LAWLER TO ‘GET THE HELL OUT’ DURING CONTENTIOUS HEARING
A card with images of Renée Good and Alex Pretti lies among flowers and other mementos at a memorial in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 27, 2026. Minnesota is suing the Trump administration for access to evidence for both shootings. (Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
Lawler told Raskin he should be “ashamed” of himself for his stance on sanctuary policies.
“Their nonsense that we had to sit there and listen to, that Jessica and Tom and Madeline had to sit there to listen to. I have no tolerance for it,” Lawler told Fox News Digital about Raskin’s comments.
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Raskin has been a strong proponent of sanctuary policies, arguing that having local police enforce federal immigration law is unconstitutional and often defending against what he views as federal overreach on sanctuary policies. He has also criticized proposals to withhold federal funding from cities and states that have limited cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Sheridan Gorman would still be alive, but for open borders, sanctuary policies and pro-criminal cashless bail policies,” Lawler said. “They support those policies. I don’t. And that’s the fundamental difference here.”
