By Renee Hickman
CHICAGO (Reuters) -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 a local state representative said.
ICE officers were conducting a vehicle stop to arrest Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez when he drove his car at law enforcement 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. It said the officer used “appropriate force” and that Villegas-Gonzalez had a history of reckless driving.
Reuters could not immediately find contact information for Villegas-Gonzalez’s family.
The Trump administration said on Monday that it launched an immigration enforcement action in Chicago and other parts of Illinois called “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Lilian Jimenez, a state representative for Illinois’ 4th district in Chicago, 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 in its statement 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.
(Reporting by Renee Hickman; Additional reporting by Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
