ICE officer fatally shoots suspect after being dragged by car near
Chicago, officials say
[September 13, 2025]
By CHRISTINE FERNANDO and REBECCA SANTANA
CHICAGO (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer
fatally shot a suspect who tried to evade arrest Friday in a Chicago
suburb by driving his car at officers and dragging one of them,
officials said.
The shooting outside the city follows days of threats by the Trump
administration to surge immigration enforcement in the nation’s
third-largest city and less than a week into an operation labeled
“Midway Blitz” by federal officials targeting the so-called sanctuary
policies in Chicago and Illinois.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a news release that the
officer was trying to arrest a man with a history of reckless driving
who had entered the country illegally, but he refused officers' orders
and instead drove his car at them. An ICE officer who was hit and
dragged by the car felt his life was threatened and opened fire, the
department said.
ICE said both the officer and the driver from the shooting in the
majority Hispanic suburb of Franklin Park, about 18 miles (29
kilometers) west of Chicago, were taken to a local hospital, where the
suspect was pronounced dead.
ICE identified the suspect as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. The Associated
Press was not able to immediately reach Villegas-Gonzalez’s family
members. Immigration advocates and local officials said they knew little
about him as of Friday afternoon. The officer has not been identified.
“We are praying for the speedy recovery of our law enforcement officer.
He followed his training, used appropriate force, and properly enforced
the law to protect the public and law enforcement,” Homeland Security
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he is aware of the shooting and demanded
“a full, factual accounting of what’s happened today to ensure
transparency and accountability.”
Video from the scene shows police tape and traffic cones blocking off
parts of the street where a large food distribution truck and gray car
can be seen from a distance. Multiple law enforcement vehicles were
surrounding the area.
Amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles
earlier this summer, at least two people died while attempting to evade
ICE — a farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof during a raid and a
man struck by an SUV while running from agents outside a Home Depot
store.
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Investigators from the FBI survey the scene where an Immigration and
Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a suspect after the
suspect drove his car at the arresting officers, Friday, Sept. 12,
2025, in Franklin Park, Ill. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
At a Friday news conference, immigration advocates argued that the
Chicago area shooting represents how militarized immigration
enforcement harms communities and demanded transparency and
accountability from ICE agents involved in the shooting.
They were flanked by about two dozen protesters who chanted and
banged on drums while holding a banner declaring, “End Detention,
Welcome Immigrants."
"The Trump deportation machine is out of control and operating with
no transparency or accountability and leading to senseless harm to
our communities," said Lawrence Benito, executive director of the
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Illinois Rep. Norma Hernandez called the shooting a tragedy and
decried ICE officials' attempts to blame the man who died.
“These tactics have led to the loss of life of one of our community
members," Hernandez said. "He is not the first and he will
unfortunately not be the last.”
Chicagoans, meanwhile, have been preparing for weekend Mexican
Independence Day celebrations that include parades, festivals,
street parties and car caravans, despite the potential immigration
crackdown.
McLaughlin said “viral social media videos and activists encouraging
illegal aliens to resist law enforcement” have made the work of ICE
officers more dangerous.
Local officials, advocates and teachers have launched citywide
efforts in the past few weeks to inform people of their rights when
confronted by ICE agents. On Friday, many denied encouraging people
who have entered the country illegally to resist law enforcement.
“We do not tell people to resist,” said Jessica Vásquez, the Cook
County commissioner for the 8th District, who emphasized community
groups that have shared legal resources and mutual aid.
___
Santana reported from Washington.
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