CHICAGO/MEXICO CITY — Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Mexican cook known for his quiet kindness, was shot dead by a US immigration agent in Franklin Park, Illinois, on September 12, moments after dropping off his children at school and daycare.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed he was a “criminal illegal alien” who drove toward agents, but family and colleagues describe a hardworking father who turned his life around after battling alcoholism.
Villegas Gonzalez had no criminal record, aside from minor traffic citations, and had been sober for more than a year. He worked long hours at Tom & Jerry’s Gyros in Chicago, where his manager called him “soft-spoken and dependable.”
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Originally from Irimbo, Michoacán, he moved to the US in 2007 seeking better opportunities. He lived in Franklin Park with his partner, Blanca Mora, and their blended family of three children.
Surveillance footage shows ICE agents surrounding his vehicle before gunshots were heard. He crashed moments later. The FBI and Franklin Park police are investigating the shooting, though it’s unclear which agency leads the probe.
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Mora says his children have since been placed in foster care. “When he closed his eyes at night,” she said, “he was thinking about the children.”
The death of Villegas Gonzalez — the first casualty in Trump’s new immigration crackdown — has reignited debate over use of force and migrant rights in the United States.