Illinois governor calls for transparency from ICE over traffic stop shooting – JURIST
At a press conference on Monday, the Governor of Illinois called for transparency from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a man was fatally shot by an ICE officer last Friday.
The incident took place in Franklin Park, a suburb west of Chicago. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Silverio Villegas Gonzalez resisted arrest during an ICE vehicle stop, driving his cart toward the officers and dragging one of them a “significant distance.” The officer then discharged his weapon. Villegas Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Mexican national employed as a cook, according to the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, was described by DHS as a “criminal illegal alien with a history of reckless driving.”
Governor Pritzker said that further information was needed about the circumstances surrounding the traffic stop, with ICE being “unwilling to provide the transparency that (…) the American public deserves.” He emphasized the limitations of state authorities, noting that state and local agencies do not have the resources to investigate federal law enforcement. He also expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of accountability at the federal level, adding that the full truth of the incident may never be known.
Immigration law in the US is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under this act, ICE officers are authorized to arrest and detain people if they have “reason to believe” that someone is in the US illegally (8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2)). ICE is a federal agency with overall authority to enforce federal immigration laws, and as such is not subject to the jurisdiction of state law enforcement agencies.
The incident occurred in the context of “Operation Midway Blitz,” an operation launched by DHS on September 8, 2025, to “target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.”
The shooting was criticized by several rights groups, with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights stating that ICE’s actions “jeopardize the safety of everyone, citizens and non-citizens alike, and disrupt the very fabric of our communities.” Assistant Secretary at DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, defended the officer’s actions, saying that “[h]e followed his training, used appropriate force, and properly enforced the law.”
ICE’s operations have caused tension between state and federal authorities across the country. President Trump recently threatened to declare a national emergency to maintain federal control of the Washington DC police department in response to a federal lawsuit filed by the city.
