Chicago, IL (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.
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.
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Santana reported from Washington.
