Hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents fatally shot a man in Franklin Park, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a Democrat from Chicago, called for a full investigation of the shooting at a news conference Friday night held in tandem with local officials and immigrant rights leaders.
He spoke over a loud group of protesters who called out, “Don’t investigate, abolish ICE!” The shouts drowned him out and aides brought him a microphone.
Garcia condemned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for “judging an individual who was killed by one of their agents” and “casting him in the worst light.” He said he met with the man’s family after the shooting.
Asked whether the agents had been wearing body cameras, Garcia said he was not aware.
The man who was killed, identified by federal officers as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, 38, was fatally shot after he allegedly tried to flee a traffic stop and struck an officer with his vehicle, leaving him with serious injuries.
The shooting in the typically quiet, working-class northwest suburb, which has a population that is more than half Hispanic, immediately brought calls for transparency from Illinois political leaders and condemnation from activists who decried the “aggressive” tactics of immigration agents.
Federal officials, meanwhile, said the officer who opened fire acted appropriately and in fear for his life. He was recovering from severe leg injuries Friday at a local hospital, where his condition had stabilized.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a written statement that Villegas-Gonzalez is a citizen of Mexico and was in the U.S. illegally, though further details were not provided.
According to DHS, immigration officers conducted a vehicle stop Friday morning to arrest Villegas-Gonzalez, who has a record of reckless driving offenses.
Records show that a man whose name and age matches Villegas-Gonzalez has received a number of traffic tickets in Cook County, but an initial search by the Tribune revealed no criminal incidents locally.
Villegas-Gonzalez “refused to follow law enforcement commands and drove his car” at officers, striking one of the ICE agents and dragging him “a significant distance,” the DHS statement said. “Fearing for his life, the officer discharged his firearm and struck the subject.”
Both the agent and Villegas-Gonzalez were taken to nearby Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where Villegas-Gonzalez was pronounced dead, authorities said.
At Friday night’s news conference, state Rep. Norma Hernandez, a Melrose Park Democrat, said Villegas-Gonzalez had only a traffic violation when agents stopped him Friday.
“We don’t trust you and we don’t want you here,” she said. “We need to abolish ICE. You cannot get rid of the 14 million undocumented immigrants here.”
U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Chicago Democrat, and other public officials on the city’s Northwest Side, condemned the shooting and also called for an investigation.
“We demand a full and thorough investigation into what happened today. DHS is not above the law,” the statement released Friday said. “They should immediately release all body camera footage, warrants, and relevant information on this case. Our community deserves answers and accountability, not the scapegoating of our most vulnerable.”
One of Villegas-Gonzalez’s Franklin Park neighbors said he had a girlfriend and two young kids, and he believed he worked at a factory or warehouse.
Several videos surfaced quickly on social media Friday showing the disturbing aftermath of the shooting.
One, taken by a bystander from across the street, showed two officers in front of a gray sedan that had smashed into the side of a semitruck. The officers could be seen opening the driver’s side door and dragging a limp Villegas-Gonzalez to the side of the road.
A local activist who was out in the area documenting ICE patrols Friday morning posted another video to his Facebook profile where a truck driver could be heard talking to emergency dispatchers. The camera then pans over to Villegas-Gonzalez, who is lying on the side of the road bleeding, with his hands apparently restrained behind his back. The two officers who removed him from the car are kneeling over him, calling for help and putting on gloves.
The fatal shooting occurred just days after Trump’s administration announced it was beginning a surge of immigration law enforcement in Chicago, dubbing it “Operation Midway Blitz” and claiming it would target “criminal illegal aliens” who have taken advantage of the city and state’s sanctuary policies.
The announcement marked the first official word from the Trump administration about increased immigration enforcement after Trump vacillated between vows of “going in” to Chicago with the potential deployment of National Guard troops to fight overall crime, to a stepped-up immigration enforcement role by ICE agents.
By Friday night, about 25 protesters stood near a small memorial of candles and flowers along Grand Avenue, near the site of the shooting.
