The officer suffered severe injuries and is stable, ICE said.
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. (WLS) — A man was shot and killed after allegedly dragging a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with his car in the west suburbs on Friday, an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.
The family of the man shot and killed by an ICE officer told ABC7 he was a father from Mexico, working at a restaurant in the Portage Park area, and has been in the United States for decades. His shooting death is sparking outrage.
ABC7 cameras were on the scene near 25th and Grand avenues in Franklin Park following the incident.
ICE said its officers were conducting "targeted law enforcement activity," and during a vehicle stop, a man, who ICE says was a suspect, resisted arrest and tried to drive his car into the arrest team.
The man struck an officer, dragging him as he tried to flee the scene, ICE said. The officer fired shots, striking the man.
ICE said the man was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer suffered severe injuries and is stable, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security said.
DHS identified the man killed as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, who the agency describes as an undocumented immigrant with a criminal history of reckless driving.
Video from the scene shows a silver car, which Villegas-Gonzalez was apparently driving, wedged into the side of a truck. It has since been removed from the scene, where there is still a heavy local and federal law enforcement presence on Friday afternoon.
A stretch of Grand Avenue was closed for some time as FBI evidence technicians investigated. Traffic appeared to be moving there again around 4 p.m.
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This deadly encounter comes as ICE operations have ramped in the Chicago area within the last few weeks. Around 300 ICE agents are stationed just north of city.
"Today, we don't feel safe. In a long long time, we don't feel safe anymore. There is no reason why you are on the street, somebody stops you, and you are losing your life for it," said Marien Casillas Pabellon with the PASO West Suburban Action Project. "Let me tell you, we are not going to live in the shadows anymore. There is no way we are going back to that. So, ICE needs to get out."
As the day has continued, immigrant rights advocates and elected officials have showed up at the scene.
"The Trump and deportation machine is out of control, and operating with no transparency and accountability, and leading to senseless harm to our communities, families and neighbors," said Laurence Benito with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
To the man's girlfriend and stepdaughter, who asked ABC7 not to show their faces, Villegas-Gonzalez was a working 38-year-old father of three from Mexico who's lived in the United States for more than 20 years.
"I will miss him, and I hope he's resting now," the man's stepdaughter said.
His girlfriend's daughter translated her heart-wrenching words.
"He was fun guy. He respected people, and he doesn't get into problems anymore," she said.
Cellphone video obtained by ABC 7 showed the moment with ICE officers removed the man from his crashed car near Grand and Elder Lane.
"He got a hole on his head and bleeding, so both men, they tried to help and cover with a band-aid, his neck," witness Victoria Connolly said.
Congressman Jesús "Chuy" García of Illinois' 4th District spoke at the scene with other politicians, shortly after flying from the nation's capital.
"Look, without a doubt, there's massive racial, ethnic profiling that's taking place and it's shameful," García said.
"It should not be a deadly consequence to have a traffic violation," said Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois' 3rd District.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker posted a statement to X, saying, "I am aware of the troubling incident that has unfolded in Franklin Park. This is a developing situation and the people of Illinois deserve a full, factual accounting of what's happened today to ensure transparency and accountability."
