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  • Evanston PD investigating after feds arrest 3 US citizens following crash during operation: mayor

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    EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) — Some faith and elected leaders in Evanston say they are deeply disturbed by the events involving federal agents on Friday.

    On Saturday, people stood united during a community vigil.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    “Immigrants are welcome here; ICE is not,” said 13th District Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita.

    Hundreds of Evanston residents and elected leaders gathered near Asbury Avenue and Oakton Street on Saturday afternoon.

    “My faith teaches me that no one is illegal, and no one deserves to be dehumanized,” said Unitarian Church of Evanston Rev. Eileen Wiviott.

    This comes 24 hours after chaotic moments played out in that same area, and three U.S. citizens were arrested.

    “My understanding of the three individuals who were taken have been released,” said Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.

    SEE ALSO | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

    Witnesses say a man and a woman in a red car were following agents to warn people of their presence.

    That’s when, bystanders say, agents slammed on their brakes causing the people in the car to crash into the agent’s vehicle.

    The Department of Homeland Security accused people who watched the incident happen of being “aggressive,” saying in part, “As agents tried to make a U-turn, the red car crashed into Border Patrol. A hostile crowd surrounded agents and their vehicle, and began verbally abusing them and spitting on them.”

    Neighbors say a man and a woman were then dragged out of a car. ABC7 blurred their faces because we do not know if they have been charged.

    Cellphone video shows one agent punching the man on the ground. At one point, an agent appears to pull out a gun on a bystander and threatens to pepper spray him.

    “I was appalled that, by a block from my home, people were dragged out of their car by masked men, some not masked, and beaten in the face,” said Evanston resident Kate LeVan.

    DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X, “The individual arrested in this video assaulted and kicked Border Patrol agents. As he was being arrested, here, he aggressively grabbed the agent’s genitals and wouldn’t let go. The agent delivered several defensive strikes to free his genitals from the perp’s grasp.”

    Biss says the Evanston Police Department is actively investigating the matter.

    “So, our police right now, exploring options about whether the right course of action is to work with the Cook County state’s attorney to press charges like that or refer, instead, perhaps, to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, but there’s an open investigation, and they’re gathering evidence and figuring out the best course of action,” Biss said.

    Biss went on to say immigration operations have impacted their schools and caused fear among students. On Friday, outdoor recess was canceled as federal agents were in the area.

    Meanwhile, over in Broadview, four people have been arrested Saturday in connection with protests outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility there, police said. They are facing charges such as Resisting, Disorderly Conduct, Disobeying to a Police Officer and Simple Assault.

    DHS issued a statement on the events in Evanston Friday, saying, “Today, U.S. Border Patrol conducted immigration enforcement operations in Evanston and Skokie, Illinois, that resulted in the arrest of five illegal aliens from Mexico, whose criminal histories include criminal trespass and multiple illegal entries into the country. All of these individuals have broken the immigration laws of our nation.

    During an operation at Oakton Street and Ashbury Avenue in Evanston, agents observed they were being aggressively tailgated by a red vehicle. As agents tried to make a U-turn, the red car crashed into Border Patrol. A hostile crowd surrounded agents and their vehicle, and began verbally abusing them and spitting on them. As Border patrol arrested one individual, who actively resisted arrest, pepper spray was deployed spray to deter the agitator and disperse the crowd. Three U.S. citizens were arrested as a result of their violence against law enforcement.

    “This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction. Over the past several days, we’ve seen an increase in assaults and deliberate vehicle rammings targeting federal law enforcement during operations. These confrontations highlight the dangers our agents face daily and the escalating aggression toward law enforcement. The violence must end.”

    Evanston police also issued a statement Friday, saying, “The Evanston Police Department responded Friday, Oct. 31, to several reports of federal agents conducting deportation operations throughout the city. Police supervisors responded to these reports; in only one instance did officers find federal agents on scene upon arrival.

    At approximately 12:25 p.m., Evanston Police responded to reports from citizens and federal agents regarding a traffic crash in which a civilian vehicle rear-ended a federal vehicle. The crash led to a disturbance at the scene.

    Preliminary information indicates that the driver of the civilian vehicle was taken into custody by federal agents. During that arrest, a confrontation occurred between community members and the agents, reportedly resulting in one or two additional arrests. Evanston Police officers worked to stabilize the scene and prevent further conflict between community members and federal agents.

    Prior to police arrival, pepper spray appears to have been deployed. Evanston Fire Department paramedics responded to provide medical care for individuals exposed to pepper spray.

    Evanston Police did not make any arrests and currently have no one in custody. The incident remains under investigation.

    The Evanston Police Department will review this incident for referral to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. If you have information, including video or other evidence, please contact the Evanston Police Detective Bureau at 847-866-5040.”

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  • Immigration enforcement on North Side leads to tense confrontations, soft lockdowns at schools

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    CHICAGO (WLS) — Videos showed federal agents detaining people as immigration enforcement activity was reported across Chicago on Friday.

    At several North Side locations, federal agents making arrests were met by community members, and at least one encounter ended in a cloud of tear gas.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    Footage from West Town Friday morning showed a federal agent breaking the driver’s side window of a car and detaining a man inside near West Superior Street and North Paulina Street.

    ABC7 blurred his face because we do not know if he has been charged with any crimes.

    Neighborhood residents confronted agents, shouting at them and blowing their whistles to alert the community as they detained the man, who was waiting for his pregnant wife outside of a community health center. Local elected officials and the community center say the man is in the country legally on a work permit and had a court date with immigration.

    SEE ALSO | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

    Later, a mid-day confrontation pitted Lakeview neighbors and protesters against masked federal agents. The face-to-face encounter ended with volleys of tear gas sending the residential block spiraling into chaos.

    Courtney Conway was among dozens of residents who confronted agents near Lakewood and Henderson after a construction worker at a home was arrested.

    “My eyes were burning. It did not feel great. They still burn a bit today,” Conway said. “There were some neighbors bringing out water for us to flush out our eyes.”

    Doorbell camera video showed agents rolling up and workers, who’d been having lunch, running for cover. One closed and braced against a gate as agents tried to push through. Another was helped through a window to elude agents.

    The stepped up ICE activity on the North Side disrupting the school day at Burr Elementary and other schools as multiple arrests played out on nearby streets.

    CPS parents and 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack confirmed a handful of schools in the Bucktown-Wicker Park area were placed on soft lockdown. That meant no outdoor recess, in response to ICE arrests in the neighborhood.

    “The kids aren’t playing outside because there’s been a huge amount of ICE presence in the neighborhood, just driving up and down the streets, just kind of terrorizing the neighborhood,” CPS parent Nicole Van Haperbeke said. “Why? It’s a peaceful, beautiful Friday.”

    SEE ALSO | US House subcommittee hosts ‘shadow hearing’ in Chicago on immigration enforcement tactics

    ABC7 obtained multiple videos from Bucktown-Wicker Park residents showing arrests in and around the neighborhood. At least one showed a gardener who a resident says was hired to plant a tree in her backyard.

    “I just asked them not to arrest him,” Bucktown resident Donna Kirchman said. “I said, ‘Please leave him alone.’ And they didn’t. I believe they took his phone, and then they took him.”

    Heavily armed agents also arrested a man sitting in a vehicle, who witnesses said works at a nearby car dealership.

    “It’s terrifying, and we knew that they were going to come to Bucktown,” resident Laura Dufour said. “They’ve been all over the city.”

    Those agents were later seen driving around vehicles that had stopped and clipping a woman. Alderman Waguespack says he’s been inundated with messages and witnessed first-hand what he claimed were ICE agents driving dangerously in the neighborhood.

    “We saw them backing up into intersections where we’ve got daycare children walking across the street,” Waguespack said. “You’ve got mothers with strollers. You’ve got a fun run right up here at St. Mary’s, and they’re driving without stopping at stop signs, blowing through alleys.”

    In light of the school lockdowns Mayor Brandon Johnson is urging Governor JB Pritzker to allow for a remote option for CPS students. That’s something the state has to sign off on, but the governor says he’s opposed to that idea because of the impact it could have on the students’ education.

    SEE ALSO | Some Chicago Board of Education members call for CPS remote learning amid immigration operations

    Also, Laugh Factory posted on social media on Friday, saying the Lakeview comedy club’s night manager was detained by “masked federal agents outside of the club.” The business posted footage of the incident to its Facebook account.

    Chicago police said officers responded to a report of a battery in the area of Belmont Avenue and Broadway just before 9:20 a.m.

    Responding officers saw federal agents and two other individuals in a physical altercation, and a crowd had gathered in the area, police said.

    Police said officers worked to deescalate and conduct crowd control. CPD did not make any arrests and left the scene once the area was cleared.

    No further information about the incident from federal authorities was available.

    Multiple alderpersons on the North Side issued alerts about more reported ICE activity on Friday.

    Ald. Daniel La Spata, who represents the 1st Ward, said on Friday morning, there have been “numerous confirmed sightings of ICE” throughout the West Town community area, including neighborhoods surrounding Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park, and the Humboldt Park border.

    Ald. Timmy Knusden, who represents the 43rd Ward, said community members on Friday have “reported ICE sightings and suspected enforcement activity at the following locations:

    • Cleveland/Belden


    • 2600 N Racine


    • 440 W Belden


    • Reports of 2 unmarked SUVs driving north on Halsted with masked drivers


    • Lincoln/Racine/Diversey


    • Racine/Drummond


    • Lill/Seminary


    • Wrightwood/Racine”

    Wicker Park’s A.N. Pritzker School also said it was on soft lockdown Friday, and all after-school programs, with the exception of Wicker Park Kids and Apollo, were canceled.

    Tear gas was thrown at Henderson and Lakewood, in a community that had so far has avoided contact with ICE agents.

    “The tear gas was deployed by ice without warning and without my neighbors hear from doing anything to provoke that reaction no one was interfering with them they were just exercising the first amendment rights,” 44th Ward Ald. Bennett Lawson said. “This is very disturbing.”

    Roaming bands of agents appeared to be targeting communities Friday where immigrants might be working.

    “No one gains, people already hurt and you kinda get to see that in real time,” neighborhood resident Donny Donoghue said.

    Earlier, protesters gathered outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview once again, as they have done every Friday now for several weeks.

    Friday’s demonstration has remained fairly contained to one corner as protesters keep within the safety zone, speaking out against the Trump’s administration’s operation “Midway Blitz” and the recent immigration crackdown in the Chicagoland area.

    “I believe that we are creating huge wounds, not only for the people who are being detained, but for the ICE officers who are doing these horrible things. I feel terrible for everybody,” said Mary Kelly, who lives in Oak Park.

    Messages left by ABC7 Chicago for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding the North Side operations were not returned.

    Immigration operations are also having an impact on the Asian community.

    The Chinese American Service League shared a video of federal agents detaining a man outside his home in Bridgeport on Thursday.

    CASL claims the father of two was not doing anything illegal. Witnesses say the agents did not present a warrant.

    DHS says gang member tried to ram agents with car, defends apparent tear gas use on protesters

    DHS said a Latin Kings gang member tried to ram agents with a car in Cicero, IL and defended the apparent use of tear gas during a Chicago protest.

    Meanwhile, ABC7 is getting more information from the DHS about recent violent run-ins with federal agents over the past few days.

    DHS says Wednesday was one of their most violent days on the job. At 26th and Ogden in Cicero, DHS claims a Latin Kings gang member tried to ram agents with his vehicle.

    Six people were arrested that day for impeding operations, and three undocumented immigrants were placed into custody.

    And there were more tense moments Thursday at the Little Village Discount Mall during an anti-ICE rally.

    Attorneys accused federal agents of violating a court order, which does not allow them to use riot control weapons unless facing an imminent threat and requires them to issue warnings first before deploying tear gas.

    A federal complaint is now taking aim at the man who led the charge. An image of Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino appears to show him throw tear gas “without justification,” according to the complaint.

    “Federal agents started acting aggressive, pushing protesters away… Again, it was all peaceful protesters,” said protester Kristian Armendariz.

    However, DHS says the group of about 75-100 people began firing commercial artillery shell fireworks at agents and throwing rocks, adding that Bovino was hit in the head.

    According to DHS, agents repeated multiple warnings to the crowd to back up, informing them that chemical agents would be deployed. The department stood by their agents’ actions, saying, “Agents properly used their training. The use of chemical munitions was conducted in full accordance with CBP policy and was necessary to ensure the safety of both law enforcement and the public.”

    Bovino was set to appear in court on Nov. 5 to give a two-hour testimony, but now a federal judge has ordered more than double the time, five hours, to question Bovino after the incidents.

    Later Friday, Judge Sara Ellis also ordered Bovino to testify in-person on Tuesday during a status hearing.

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    Stephanie Wade

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  • Agents tackle US citizen after East Side operation leads to crash, spills into Walgreens: VIDEO

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    CHICAGO (WLS) — A federal operation on Chicago’s East Side led to a crash, followed by a pursuit, before the situation eventually spilled over into a nearby Walgreens.

    That is where 19-year-old South Side native Warren King says he was shopping with friends and family before he was tackled and arrested.

    The takedown by immigration officers was recorded outside a Walgreens store as loved ones pled for his release.

    King’s relative can be heard saying in the video, “He’s a citizen! He’s a citizen!”

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    ABC7 blurred his face during the arrest since he faces no charges.

    “You don’t know what’s going on, so get the *** back!” an agent can be heard saying in the video.

    It happened after federal agents were seen swarming the store, appearing to be in search of someone.

    “And, when he called for backup, other people come in, and that’s when I start to leave,” King said.

    SEE ALSO: Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

    But King says he did not get far from the exit before being tackled to the ground by a federal agent and placed under arrest. He is now left with both physical and mental scars.

    “He was just saying, ‘Why are you running?’” King said. “But I’m telling him, ‘I’m a U.S. citizen. I’m here. I’m legal. I’m born here.’ So, they didn’t try to hear none of that, though.”

    It all apparently stemmed from a collision, captured on video, at the nearby intersection of 105th and Avenue N.

    Video shows Border Patrol agents in a white truck crashing into a red SUV on Tuesday morning.

    It happened following a chase that circled the neighborhood for nearly 30 minutes after, the Department of Homeland Security said, the driver, an alleged undocumented immigrant, rammed into their agents’ vehicle.

    Border Patrol followed the vehicle for about 30 minutes, and stopped it using a precision immobilization technique, or PIT, maneuver.

    Two people, both living in the U.S. without legal permission, tried to run away, DHS said. They were taken into custody.

    “Once the vehicle was stopped, the suspects, who are both illegal aliens attempted to flee on foot. As Border Patrol arrested the subjects and attempted to secure the scene a crowd began to form,” DHS said.

    King told ABC7 he sat with them both in a car for hours before he was released.

    “They just accepted, like, their defeat. It wasn’t no talking in the back between both of them, and they knew each other,” King said. “I just graduated high school. So, they can come for, literally, anybody. And that’s not right.”

    A white Expedition and the red SUV were damaged in the crash.

    Chopper 7 was over the crash scene at about 12:10 p.m., where a number of unmarked federal vehicles were in the middle of an intersection.

    “I went outside, and I just see all the ICE guys on the floor with the guy. Then everybody just started coming out,” local shopkeeper Hector Baldazua said. “First I heard a lot of cars doing circles. I was like, what’s happening?”

    Uber driver Eliseo Uribe was driving home.

    “The white SUV nearly hit me. I thought they were fighting. But I never imagined they were ICE,” Uribe said in Spanish.

    Mostly peaceful bystanders surrounded the dozens of agents in a tense standoff. Some were holding flags and others were holding phones, recording.

    They chanted “ICE go home.”

    Video shows one teenager being detained. Their attorney says they are a U.S. citizen, and have since been released.

    ABC7 Chicago crews on the ground saw some tear gas deployed, after something, possibly eggs, was thrown at agents.

    Chicago police said they had responded to the crash just after 11:05 a.m.

    CPD had tried to get between federal agents and the residents gathered to deescalate, police said, but then rocks were thrown at the federal agents.

    A large amount of tear gas was deployed about 12:40 p.m.

    Federal agents used tear gas against a crowd on Chicago’s East Side Tuesday.

    Those gathered quickly dispersed.

    Federal agents had masks, but CPD did not. Some officers appeared to be affected by the gas.

    During the protest, Chicago police said, 13 of their officers were exposed to tear gas while federal agents arrested multiple people, including a 16-year-old boy.

    “They just told me, ‘Juanita, you have an emergency. ICE took your son. They beat him up. They body-slammed him. And they took your son,’” Juanita Garnica said. “They haven’t told me anything. He’s not an immigrant. He was born and raised in Chicago.”

    Deputy Mayor Beatriz Ponce de Leon arrived in the aftermath.

    “There is absolutely no reason to have this kind of chaos happening in our communities, putting people at risk, putting people in harm’s way and exacerbating the fear that people feel right now,” said Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights.

    Homeland Security described what happened as part of a growing trend. They did not say how many people were arrested in total or where they were taken.

    “My main concern was getting the vehicles removed from the situation. I thought that would kind of clear up the tensions. I have to worry about how this will spill over in the next few days, next few weeks,” 10th Ward Ald. Peter Chico said.

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  • Fencing around Broadview ICE facility set to be removed

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    BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — Fencing around the ICE facility in Broadview is set to be removed soon.

    A judge ruled last week, that the fencing must come down by Tuesday. Monday morning, bulldozers were in position to potentially begin taking the fencing down.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    The village sued to have the 8-foot fence removed, saying it posed a public safety hazard because it blocks emergency responders.

    SEE ALSO | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

    RELATED | Appeals court upholds ruling blocking Trump admin. from deploying National Guard in Illinois

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  • Appeals court upholds ruling blocking Trump admin. from deploying National Guard in Illinois

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    BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — As demonstrators kept their fight going outside the Broadview U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Saturday, at the same time, a court battle seemed to put an end to federal plans to have the National Guard on Chicago area streets, at least for now.

    The Trump administration on Friday asked an appeals court for an immediate stay of a Chicago federal judge’s ruling this week that blocked the National Guard from deploying in Illinois.

    The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday upheld the judge’s ruling, but did partially grant the Trump administration’s request for stay by allowing troops to remain federalized pending their appeal of the judge’s ruling.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a statement later Saturday, saying, “The court’s order today keeps the troops off the streets of Chicago, Broadview or any other community in Illinois. This is a victory for our state. This is a victory for state and local law enforcement – who know their communities and who protect the right of their communities to speak truth to power.”

    The Department of Justice says the National Guard is needed to protect federal officers from violent attacks and called Judge April Perry’s move to grant the temporary restraining order “extraordinary.”

    Perry wrote in her opinion, after granting the state’s request for that temporary restraining order, that the deployment of the National Guard “is likely to lead to civil unrest.”

    Even as temperatures dropped, protesters’ voices still rang high outside the Broadview ICE detention center.

    Protests continued after local faith leaders held a prayer march to the facility Saturday morning. Their goal was to bring holy communion to detainees. Illinois State Police stationed outside the detention center said they called ICE with the request, which was denied.

    Before heading to the facility, the priests, nuns and community members gathered at a Maywood church for a prayer service.

    Bill Delong, a retired Army veteran visiting from Kentucky, was among the anti-ICE demonstrators in Broadview.

    “We all are Americans until due process,” Delong said. “I love my country, and I don’t know what happened, you know? When you start to see people get rolled up off the streets, hooded up, and thrown in vans; that’s something that we fought against.”

    SEE ALSO | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

    The latest in the legal battle over National Guard deployments comes as protesters and agents have clashed multiple times in the past, ending with arrests.

    Officials said Saturday night that 15 people were arrested by Illinois State Police in connection to protests near the Broadview facility throughout the day. Most charges were resisting, obstruction and disobeying a police officer.

    Illinois Democrats and Republicans remain divided of the deployment of the National Guard to assist federal agents in their ongoing immigration enforcement operation across the Chicago area.

    “This is an intentional attack by this president to divide and separate our communities, but he has finally met his match in the greatest city in the world, in Chicago,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

    “I’m in disappointed in general,” Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar said. “What we’re really trying to do is just implement the immigration laws that currently stands. And unfortunately, the protesters that are out there are disrupting the area to the point where it’s become unsafe for federal officers.”

    Meanwhile, another federal judge ruled the metal fence that was erected outside the Broadview ICE facility must come down by early next week. This comes after the Village of Broadview sued, saying it blocked this public road and could impact first responders getting to a scene.

    READ MORE | Broadview protest arrests, dropped charges influenced ruling to bar National Guard deployments

    Friday marked another day of anti-ICE demonstrations near the Broadview facility.

    Hundreds of people throughout the day could be seen rallying together, but authorities say at least four people were arrested for resisting and obstructing law enforcement.

    Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth were turned away from trying to visit the Broadview facility on Friday.

    And in a separate decision, a judge granted the village of Broadview’s temporary restraining order, calling for a fence, which was put up by federal agents and blocks a street near the facility, to come down. The government has until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday to take that fence down.

    The faith community stepped off from St. Eulalia Catholic Church before heading to the Broadview facility. The goal is to attempt to deliver communion people who may be being held at the facility. Broadview’s mayor was also expected to walk.

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  • ICE agent drops gun, appears to point it at bystanders during arrest in Maryland: VIDEO

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    ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team

    Sunday, September 28, 2025 7:17PM

    ICE agent appears to point gun at bystanders during MD arrest: VIDEO

    Video shows an ICE agent dropping his gun before appearing to point it at bystanders during an arrest in Prince George’s County, MD.

    PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (WLS) — Video captured the moment an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent dropped his handgun during a struggle to make an arrest in Maryland.

    The agent then appears to point the gun at bystanders.

    The footage was shot on Wednesday in Prince George’s County.

    SEE ALSO | ICE officer seen pushing woman to the floor at NY immigration court relieved of duties, agency says

    In the video, you can see that when the officer drops his gun, he picks it up and appears to point it in the direction of bystanders.

    A Department of Homeland Security official says the man being arrested was resisting.

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  • Illinois officials demand release of video in deadly shooting involving ICE officer in Franklin Park

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    FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. (WLS) — An Illinois congressman is among those who are calling for all video of the deadly shooting involving an ICE officer in the west suburbs to be released by federal officials.

    The shooting happened in Franklin Park on Friday.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said its officers were conducting “targeted law enforcement activity,” and during a vehicle stop, a man, who ICE says was a suspect, resisted arrest and tried to drive his car into the arrest team.

    The man struck an officer, dragging him as he tried to flee the scene, ICE said. The officer shot the man, who was later identified as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. The Department of Homeland Security described him as an undocumented immigrant with a criminal history of reckless driving.

    ICE said the man was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer suffered severe injuries and is stable, ICE and DHS said.

    Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García says all video of the incident should be released.

    “We want to know everything about what occurred and for all evidence to be put forward publicly so the public can make its own conclusions, but this was totally preventable, unnecessary and most tragic,” García said.

    Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has also called for transparency in the investigation into the shooting.

    ABC7 reached out to ICE for comment and to see if the officers involved were wearing cameras, but has not yet heard back yet.

    The family of Villegas-Gonzalez told ABC7 he was a father from Mexico, working at a restaurant in the Portage Park area, and has been in the United States for decades. His shooting death is sparking outrage.

    This deadly encounter came as ICE operations have ramped in the Chicago area within the last few weeks. Around 300 ICE agents are stationed just north of city.

    To the man’s girlfriend and stepdaughter, Villegas-Gonzalez was a working 38-year-old father of three from Mexico who’s lived in the United States for more than 20 years.

    Cellphone video obtained by ABC 7 showed the moment with ICE officers removed the man from his crashed car near Grand and Elder Lane.

    “He got a hole on his head and bleeding, so both men, they tried to help and cover with a band-aid, his neck,” witness Victoria Connolly said.

    Congressman García spoke at the scene Friday with other politicians, shortly after flying from the nation’s capital.

    “Look, without a doubt, there’s massive racial, ethnic profiling that’s taking place and it’s shameful,” García said.

    Governor Pritzker posted a statement to X Friday, saying, “I am aware of the troubling incident that has unfolded in Franklin Park. This is a developing situation and the people of Illinois deserve a full, factual accounting of what’s happened today to ensure transparency and accountability.”

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