CHICAGO: A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a man on Friday as officers attempted to detain him in a Chicago suburb, the Department of Homeland Security and local officials said.
ICE officers were conducting a vehicle stop to arrest Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez when he drove his car at the officers, DHS said in a statement.
An ICE officer fired at Villegas-Gonzalez after being dragged by his vehicle, according to the statement. The officer, who was not named, was injured and in stable condition, according to DHS.
Reuters could not immediately find contact information for Villegas-Gonzalez’s family. DHS said in the statement that he was in the country illegally.
The Trump administration said on Monday that it launched an immigration enforcement action in Chicago and other parts of Illinois called “Operation Midway Blitz.”
“We warned that ICE’s aggressive tactics and disregard for due process were a violent escalation,“ U.S. Representatives Jesús “Chuy” García and Delia Ramirez and Illinois Representative Norma Hernandez said in a joint statement.
DHS said the ICE officer used “appropriate force” during the incident and that Villegas-Gonzalez had a history of reckless driving. The agency also said that activists were encouraging people in the country illegally to resist law enforcement, a claim rejected by elected officials.
“Advocates and elected officials in Chicago have been warning people to be safe and know their rights if they have an encounter with law enforcement,“ García, Ramirez and Hernandez said in their statement.
Lilian Jimenez, an Illinois state representative in Chicago, also criticized ICE for the death in Franklin Park, a Chicago suburb. “This endangers all of our community for ICE to operate in this manner,“ she said.
“Now we have seen the ultimate, horrific circumstances that we were all worried about. They have taken away the life of our community member.” DHS said the incident took place in Chicago. Jimenez and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said it happened in Franklin Park.
“The people of Illinois deserve a full, factual accounting of what’s happened today to ensure transparency and accountability,“ Pritzker said on X.
President Donald Trump, a Republican, in recent weeks signaled he could send National Guard troops and federal officers to Democratic-led Chicago to combat crime and illegal immigration.
The operation has so far more closely resembled Trump-era immigration enforcement operations than troop deployments he authorized in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., this summer. Trump’s threats have been met with protests across Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. The president said on Friday he would send National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee – REUTERS