CHICAGO — The family of a Mexican father shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent near Chicago last year has taken the first step toward suing the federal government, saying the shooting was unlawful and preventable, The Associated Press reported.
Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, 38, had lived in the U.S. for 18 years. He was shot on Sept. 12, 2025, in suburban Franklin Park during “Operation Midway Blitz,” the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Chicago area.
The Department of Homeland Security initially said the agent was dragged by Villegas Gonzalez’s vehicle and fired in self-defense. A coroner’s report found he was shot from behind at close range, according to the AP.
“This horrific shooting was unlawful and wholly preventable,” the family’s attorneys wrote in a claim filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act. That law gives the government six months to settle before a lawsuit can proceed and does not allow suits against individual agents.
According to the claim, Villegas Gonzalez, a line cook, had just dropped his two young sons off at school and day care when agents pulled a Jeep in front of his car. He reversed about 50 feet and drove into an open lane. Surveillance video captured gunshots as an agent chased the car, which crashed into a parked delivery truck.
Attorney Jonathan Manes said the family expects to end up in federal court. “The way that the administration has reflexively sought to smear Silverio and call it justified doesn’t suggest to us that they’ll be willing to settle,” he said.
Illinois State Police announced an investigation into the shooting in May, the AP reported.
Sources: KTAR News/AP. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Brett Gustafson / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
