FRANKLIN PARK — The family of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez has submitted an administrative claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act, seeking compensation from the federal government for his death. The claim follows the fatal shooting of Gonzalez by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on Sept. 12, 2025, in Franklin Park, Illinois.

José Villegas Gonzalez filed the administrative complaint on behalf of his brother's estate.

"This horrific shooting was unlawful and wholly preventable," attorneys wrote in the claim. They maintained that the agent was not under immediate threat when the shots were fired.

"The ICE officer was therefore standing alongside the driver’s side of Silverio’s vehicle when he fired the fatal shot, effectively executing Silverio at close range," attorneys wrote in the complaint. The filing states the agent chose to remain at the window rather than move out of the vehicle’s path.

Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. for 18 years, worked as a line cook and was raising two sons. He worked as a line cook and was raising two sons. He had no criminal record and only a few minor traffic violations.

On the morning of Sept. 12, 2025, Villegas Gonzalez had dropped off his two young sons at school and daycare when ICE agents attempted to stop his car. The incident took place during 'Operation Midway Blitz,' an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago. Two ICE agents pulled their Jeep in front of his car and positioned themselves on either side, leaning on the window frames.

Villegas Gonzalez reversed approximately 50 feet before driving into an open traffic lane. Surveillance video recorded the sound of gunshots as one agent pursued the vehicle, which later collided with a parked delivery truck. Neither of the ICE agents involved in the shooting wore body-worn cameras.

Villegas Gonzalez was pronounced dead about an hour after the shooting at Loyola University Medical Center. He died at Loyola University Medical Center. A medical examiner determined he was shot downward through the back of his neck.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a news release stating that Villegas Gonzalez dragged an agent with his car and that the agent fired in self-defense, fearing for his life. The agency reported the agent was seriously injured. However, body-worn camera footage from responding police shows the agent described his injuries as 'nothing major.' The agent's partner reported a knee injury and cuts to his hands.

The Department of Homeland Security has not identified the agent who fired the fatal shot. Federal prosecutors declined to bring charges against the agent.

Jonathan Manes represents Villegas Gonzalez’s family. He declined to share the specific amount of compensation sought but said the family plans to ask for a very large amount of damages at trial. The claim includes approximately $10,000 for damage to Villegas Gonzalez’s car and its contents.

"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." Manes said the family expects to proceed to court if no settlement is reached. "We expect that, in six months' time, we’ll be in federal court where the government has to answer for this, where the truth can come out." The Federal Tort Claims Act allows the government six months to resolve the claim before a lawsuit can be filed. The act does not permit legal action against individual agents. Illinois State Police announced an investigation into the shooting in May 2026.

After Villegas Gonzalez's death, his children were placed in foster care in Idaho. Villegas González's death was the third fatal shooting by immigration agents during the second Trump administration. It was also the third death during an immigration operation. A lawsuit was filed against DHS on behalf of Marimar Martinez, who survived being shot five times in her car by an immigration agent in Chicago less than a month after Villegas Gonzalez’s death.

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Franklin Park police waited more than seven months to request an investigation by the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State Police inquiry into the shooting was delayed for over seven months, with Franklin Park police making the request on the same day the Illinois Accountability Commission released a critical report on Operation Midway Blitz. The Illinois Accountability Commission found reasonable cause to investigate federal agents for potential violations of agency policy, state and federal criminal laws, and constitutional rights, including the use of deadly force against Villegas Gonzalez without apparent justification. Primary source: ilac.illinois.gov