A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a man in the Chicago area who to drive his car into ICE officers, a representative for the agency said on Friday, adding that the man had been resisting arrest during a vehicle stop.
The ICE officer “followed his training, used appropriate force and properly enforced the law,” Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement.
ICE has been conducting a higher number of immigration arrests than usual in the Chicago area this week, under an effort called Operation Midway Blitz.
Residents of Chicago and its suburbs have been watchful for ICE agents and vehicles throughout the area, reporting activity to hotlines and websites tracking the agents’ whereabouts.
The incident on Friday took place in Franklin Park, a suburb of Chicago near O’Hare International Airport with a significant Latino population.
An U. S. . A representative for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said on Friday that a man in the Chicago area was shot dead by an ICE officer after he crashed his car into them. The man had been restraining himself during a traffic stop.
The agency representative said the officer fled in his car and was dragged by the man, who the authorities claimed was not legally in the country. The officer’s condition has stabilized despite severe injuries.
ICE determined that the man was Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. At a nearby hospital, he was declared dead.
In a statement, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security said the ICE officer “followed his training, used appropriate force, and properly enforced the law.”. Public safety was being undermined by “viral social media videos and activists encouraging illegal aliens to resist law enforcement,” she continued.
In the Chicago area, ICE has been making more immigration arrests than normal this week as part of an initiative known as Operation Midway Blitz. According to the agency’s statement on Wednesday, that operation has resulted in the arrest of multiple individuals, including those charged with violent crimes such as assault and robbery.
People in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs have been alert for ICE officers and cars all over the region, reporting any activity to hotlines and websites that track the agents’ movements. Sightings have increased since last weekend, according to local officials.
The incident that happened on Friday happened in Franklin Park, a Latino-heavy Chicago suburb close to O’Hare Interstate Airport.
The shooting occurred on a section of the street that was blocked off with yellow tape. While investigators set up little cones around what looked to be the scene of the incident, police officers and municipal workers diverted traffic in different directions.
27-year-old José De Blas, who works at the car shop down the street, claimed that while he was at work, his boss informed him that there had been a collision close by. Mr. De Blas stated that he had been worried about ICE’s actions and was taken aback to discover that immigration agents were involved.
“Being Latino, it’s going to be a little scary,” Mr. Dot De Blas remarked. I had a gut feeling that ICE would visit Franklin Park because it is a predominantly Latino-Polish neighborhood. “.”.
The F was contacted by the Franklin Park Police Department with inquiries regarding the shooting. B. . I. was “aware of the incident in Franklin Park and is assisting law enforcement in response,” the company stated in an email. Public safety is not in danger, and more information is not yet available. “.”.
