CHICAGO – Federal immigration agents fatally shot a man in the city’s Northwest suburbs who they say was resisting arrest and dragged an agent with his car, officials said on Sep. 12.
U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officials said that the man they were attempting to arrest ignored commands from federal agents and drove his car into an officer attempting to arrest him. The agent suffered multiple injuries and is in stable condition, according to an agency statement. 
DHS said in a statement that the situation arose from an “enforcement operation targeting a criminal illegal alien” and that agents had “conducted a vehicle stop to arrest” the man.
“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,” said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Viral social media videos and activists encouraging illegal aliens to resist law enforcement not only spread misinformation, but also undermine public safety, as well as the safety of our officers and those being apprehended.”
The fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez comes about a week into Operation Midway Blitz, a crackdown on immigration enforcement in the Chicago area ordered by President Donald Trump. The White House has said a crackdown is aimed at “the worst of the worst” criminal immigrants.
Villegas-Gonzalez’s known criminal background included a history of reckless driving, immigration officials said. Immigration officials said it was unclear how long he had been in the country.
Manuel Antonio Cardenas, a Chicago-area attorney who represented Villegas-Gonzalez in his traffic cases, is calling for a full investigation into the fatal shooting.
“His charges were all driving related; they were not violent crimes,” Cardenas told USA TODAY. “There should be a full investigation. The tactics that are being used by ICE are leading to situations that can result in the loss of life and injury to people.”
Cook County court records show Villegas-Gonzalez had traffic violations in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2019. Charges against him included driving nearly 40 mph over the speed limit, operating an uninsured vehicle and driving on the left side of the road.
Cardenas said that when he last represented Villegas-Gonzalez in 2019 his client worked in construction.
U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents began arresting Chicago-area immigrants on Sep. 7 as part of Trump’s Midway Blitz crackdown.
Agency representatives did not respond to requests for information about the latest number of people arrested in connection with the Chicago-area operation.
On Sep. 9, three days into the crackdown, an agency spokesperson shared that at least 12 people had been arrested by immigration agents. Charges against them, according to the agency, included strong-arm rape and sexual abuse of a minor. Agency officials did not respond to requests for further information about charges against immigrants taken into custody.
Local immigration activists at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights suggested at a news conference called in response to the fatal shooting that the actual number of people arrested by immigration agents was higher than what had been shared publicly.
“Our big takeaway from this week is that the Trump deportation machine is out of control,” said Executive Director Lawrence Benito.
Federal immigration agents and Chicago-area protesters clashed outside a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement facility in the city’s western suburbs on Sep. 12, according to videos shared with USA TODAY.
Videos of the protest show immigration agents firing pepper balls at protesters outside the facility in Broadview, Illinois, that serves as a processing center for immigrants headed to agency locations outside Illinois.
At least one demonstrator was hospitalized in connection with the clash, according to protesters.
The site about 12 miles west of Chicago has become the focus of local protesters looking to slow down immigration authorities’ efforts to remove immigrants from the state. 
“They call it a ‘processing center’ like they’re processing meat. It shows you how inhumane this machine is,” Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss told USA TODAY. The mayor of the suburb north of Chicago was among the protesters at the center early on Sep. 12. “I’m here to be a part of the resistance against these outrageous, cruel, un-American acts… to grow a protest movement that’s going to be the only way to save this country and our democracy.”

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