The Chicago authorities have demanded a clear and exhaustive investigation after the death of Silverio Villegas González, a Mexican immigrant who died during a detention procedure carried out by the United States immigration and customs control service (ICE) last Friday in a suburb of the city.
The tragedy has shocked the Latin community and generated a wave of protests while the concerns of the intensification of migratory operations in the city, the most populous third in the country.
A tragedy that could be avoided
The mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, described the fact of “a chaos” and “a tragedy that could have been avoided”, and in his public message on the social network X he requested a transparent investigation that clarifies the circumstances that surrounded the death of Villegas González.
“We join our immigrant community – and especially our Mexican neighbors – to demand a full report,” said the official.
Johnson emphasized that “no person should live in fear of an arrest, detention, harassment or illegal violence” and promised to protect the inhabitants of Chicago against “excess of federal power and unconstitutional actions.”
Likewise, he denounced that the presence of federal immigration agents in the streets of the city has made life more dangerous for local communities.
For its part, Congresswoman Delia Ramírez demanded an exhaustive investigation into the death of Villegas and called the community to remain united and vigilant against these actions.
Incident details
According to the Department of National Security (DHS), Silverio Villegas González, 38, and in the country without legal status, had a background for reckless driving and was arrested during a traffic control in Franklin Park, a suburb close to Chicago.
When the ICE agents ordered him to stop, Villegas allegedly refused, he rammed an agent with his vehicle and dragged him several meters. Before fear for his life, the agent shot his gun and Villegas subsequently died in a hospital.
The ICE agent suffered multiple injuries, but remains stable. ICE did not provide more details in this regard, just affirming that the shot was in self -defense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8xlj84uz7m
Social Reaction and Community Vigil
The death of Villegas has generated outrage in the Latin community of Chicago. A hundred people gathered in a vigil made in Franklin Park to demand justice, including Rudy Repa, local resident, who said: “I am incredibly angry and I want justice for our community.”
Other attendees, immigrants from countries such as Guatemala and Chile, expressed their growing fear in the face of migratory operations and police militarization in their neighborhoods.
Alexandra Calleja, present at the vigil, said that Villegas could have scared and fled because he was afraid not to see his children again.
Increased migratory operations
On September 8, the DHS initiated a campaign called “Operation Midway Blitz” focused on the deportation of immigrants without legal status that have a criminal record, especially in states and cities with “sanctuary” laws.
Following this campaign, ICE has intensified its operations at various points, which has caused protests and confrontations with the local community.
Chicago and the state of Illinois maintain policies that limit cooperation with the migratory federal authorities, which the DHS indicates as an invitation to the “massive migration” towards the region.
Internal tensions
The actions of the ICE have generated political tensions in a scenario in which the federal government under the administration of Donald Trump has promoted strict migratory measures, firmly rejected by local and state authorities.
The governor of Illinois, Jay Robert Pritzker, has been an open critic of these raids, considering that they often coincide with sensitive dates, such as Mexico’s independence day (September 16), an emblematic celebration for the Mexican community in Chicago, where according to the 2020 census they lived some 819 thousand people of Mexican origin.
Current deportation and expulsion figures
So far, deportations with an increasing number of arrests and expulsions of immigrants during this year have intensified in Illinois.
According to official DHS data, only in this “Midway Blitz” campaign it is estimated that up to two thousand immigrants in Chicago and short -term close areas can be expelled.
Official deportations at the national level are kept in increase since 2024, with more than 150 thousand people expelled so far from 2025.
In Chicago, the potential of migrants to be detained or deported is particularly high due to the concentration of Latin population and restrictive policies applied by ICE.
Protests and demands of Latin leaders
The murder of Villegas also caused a wave of pronouncements of Latin leaders and civil organizations.
Federal representative Jesús “Chuy” Garcia publicly questioned the ability of the ICE to operate with justice and security.
“If you can kill a neighbor in broad daylight and arrest someone fighting for immigrants, what prevents them from going for anyone?” Garcia said at a conference in front of an ICE installation on Broadview, a suburb of Chicago.
There were also confrontations in prolonged protests outside this installation, where federal agents equipped with helmets and antigás masks contained protesters.
