Crime & Law
Family of Silverio Villegas González, Who Was Fatally Shot Last Year by an ICE Agent, Files Federal Claim
FBI investigators on the scene of a fatal ICE shooting in Franklin Park on Sept. 12, 2025. (WTTW News)
The family of Silverio Villegas González, the suburban father who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a traffic stop last year, is taking legal action against the Trump administration more than a year after the “unnecessary, unjust” killing.
Attorneys with the MacArthur Justice Center and National Immigrant Justice Center representing Villegas González’s family filed a new claim against ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI on Thursday under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
DHS spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The killing of Villegas González sparked protests and widespread calls for accountability during the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts across Illinois known as “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Villegas González had just dropped off his two young sons at school and daycare on the morning of Sept. 12, 2025, when he was pulled over by ICE agents in suburban Franklin Park. As he attempted to drive away, one agent standing alongside Villegas González’s car shot downwards into his neck at point-blank range, effectively executing him, attorneys said.
While DHS claimed Villegas González had driven at the agents, one of whom they said was dragged and “seriously injured,” body camera video of the incident later showed the agent saying his injuries were “nothing major.”
“This horrific shooting was unlawful and wholly preventable,” attorneys wrote in the claim filing. “There was no lawful basis to shoot Silverio. The officer killed him unjustifiably, unnecessarily, and contrary to DHS policy. Silverio did not present a threat to the officers and did not pose a threat of death or serious physical harm to anyone else.”
Attorneys for Villegas González’s family argued the shooting was “unnecessary, unjust” and that the manner in which the officers conducted the traffic stop was improper and created unnecessary danger.
According to the claim, the officers parked in front of Villegas González’s vehicle rather than behind it and placed their hands on the vehicle before they knew if it had been turned off. Even so, the claim alleges that the officers were not in the path of Villegas González’s vehicle and nothing prevented them from stepping away from the side of that vehicle.
Once Villegas González began to reverse, the officer who shot him chose to hold onto the moving vehicle, rather than stepping aside, the claim states.
“The shooting officer was not in danger when he fired at Silverio,” the claim states. “He was alongside the vehicle, not in its path. But even if he had erroneously and unreasonably perceived a danger, shooting Silverio could not have mitigated any risk to him or to anyone else.”
They also alleged the federal government has failed to conduct any proper investigation into the shooting, nor has it corrected its “false and derogatory account” of what happened.
Illinois State Police launched an investigation into the shooting in May, but no criminal charges have been yet been filed against anyone involved.
A claim filed under the FTCA allows individuals to sue the government for misconduct committed by its employees.
After filing that claim, Villegas González’s family must now wait six months for a possible response from the federal government before they’re able to file a lawsuit. Earlier this week, Marimar Martinez — a Chicago woman who survived being shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park — did just that, filing her own lawsuit months after her initial claim.
Fifteen other Illinois residents filed similar claims with DHS last month, alleging they were victimized by the violence and abuse federal agents carried out during “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Villegas González’s family said they are still trying to clear his name after the Trump administration “tried to justify his death by smearing his good name with lies and false narratives.”
“After Silverio was shot, two innocent children were left without their father, and we were left without a brother and son,” they said in a statement. “We are united by the same pain that every family who has been impacted by this inhumane immigration system faces. A year has not erased or diminished the ache we feel in his absence. Our family demands justice for Silverio and we hope that those responsible for his death are held accountable.”
