An undocumented immigrant has died this morning after receiving a shot from an agent of (ICE), during an operation on the outskirts of Chicago, in a Latin majority neighborhood called Franklin Park. The deceased, called Silverio Villegas González, was the goal of, and was achieved by a bullet while trying to resist the arrest.
According to a statement from the Department of National Security (DHS), the immigrant, whom they describe as a person with a history of “reckless driving”, refused to follow the orders of the agents and tried to flee in their car, moving towards them. In that act, he dragged an ICE officer with him for “a significant distance.” The agent, who suffered multiple injuries, shot fearing for his life. The immigrant was transferred to a hospital, where he was declared dead, while the officer was with serious injuries, although his condition was reported as stable.
The Undersecretary of the DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, defended the performance of the injured agent. In this regard, he said that “he fulfilled his training, he used the appropriate force and applied the law properly to protect the public and forces of the order.” He also assured that “viral videos on social networks and activists who encourage illegal immigrants to resist the authorities not only disinforming misinformation, but undergo public safety, as well as that of our agents and detained people.” Data from the department itself ensure that aggressions against ICE agents, until last July, had increased by almost 700% compared to 2024.
The death of Villegas González occurs within the framework of an offensive against immigrants launched by Donald Trump’s government in Illinois since the beginning of September. The objective, according to the White House, is to persecute people without legal status who have a history of serious crimes and are evading ICE through local sanctuary laws, which establish that the authorities of the area are not obliged to collaborate with federal agencies in the identification, detention or delivery of undocumented persons.
About 10 kilometers from the incident, also this morning, a protest was carried out outside an ICE processing center on Broadview. The demonstration began around 7:00 am and the organizers have claimed that it will last 12 hours. The protesters denounce that the immigrant community is being. Likewise, they have expressed themselves against the conditions in which they keep those detained in that center.
During the protest, the participants chanted slogans while trying to block the vehicle outlet. The agents, on the other hand, pushed several people to clear the step. Several media reported clashes between both parties.
ORGANIZATIONS OF THE RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANTS have warned that the strategy of applying massive operations in states whose laws limit cooperation with ICE, can generate abuse and situations where detainees are not duly informed of their rights. They have also indicated that these operations contribute to an environment of fear in the communities.
Federal authorities, on the other hand, ensure that these actions are necessary to maintain public security and prevent people with serious crimes from being released due to sanctuary policies. At the same time, they state that the situation is complicated by the influence of publications on social networks that encourage immigrants in front of the authorities.
