Family of man killed in Franklin Park, Illinois, ICE shooting files claim against federal government

The family of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Franklin Park last year, has filed a tort claim against the federal government, alleging the shooting "was unlawful and wholly preventable."

Civilians cannot sue the federal government the way they can sue individual police officers or even municipal or state police departments, so the Federal Tort Claims Act allows individuals to sue the United States itself for the actions of a government employee. Under the law, the government has six months to investigate and respond to a claim. If it refuses to respond or denies the claim, the person can then sue in federal district court.

In May, 18 of the 37 residents of the South Shore apartment building subjected to a military-style raid by federal agents – complete with armored trucks and a Blackhawk helicopter – also filed a tort claim against the government, using the same process.

Villegas Gonzalez, 38, was shot in the neck and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in northwest suburban Franklin Park on Sept. 12, 2025. According to his lawsuit, he had just dropped his 7-year-old son off at school and his 3-year-old son at daycare, and was on his way to work when the agents began following him.

Villegas Gonzalez pulled over when the agents activated their emergency lights, the lawsuit says, only for the agents to park in front of him, blocking his car and partially blocking another lane of traffic. The lawsuit said both officers were armed and wearing protective vests.

The officers each approached a different side of the car and leaned down to talk to Villegas Gonzalez, who had rolled his window partially down, according to the lawsuit. The passenger window was open, and the officer on that side reached into the car, as recorded on surveillance video from a nearby nail salon.

About 10 seconds after the first officer approached, Villegas Gonzalez put his car in reverse and backed away from them. The officer on the passenger side drew his weapon; the officer on the driver's side grabbed onto the top of the driver's side window, according to the lawsuit, instead of stepping away from the car.

The claim lays out what happened next: Villegas-Gonzalez backed up about 50 feet, then drove forward. The agent, with his gun drawn, ran after the car, first with the gun raised and then with it down at his side. About six seconds after the car pulled away, surveillance video recorded six gunshots, according to the claim. Three seconds later, the car crashed into a parked delivery truck and became wedged partly underneath it.

The lawsuit says that based on the video, the timing of the gunshots and the location of Villegas Gonzalez's gunshot wound, the officer on the driver's side of the car was the one who opened fire.

Villegas Gonzalez was shot in the neck. An autopsy by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide and found blood had aspirated into his airways, meaning he kept trying to breathe after he was shot, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cites the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's use-of-force policy, which prohibits its agents from "shooting at a moving vehicle solely to disable it." According to the lawsuit, DHS agents can only use deadly force "to prevent escape only where the officer reasonably believes the subject poses a significant threat of death or serious physical harm."

"There was no lawful basis to shoot Silverio," the lawsuit argues. "The officer killed him unjustifiably, unnecessarily, and contrary to DHS policy."

The lawsuit also accused the federal government of immediately falsifying key facts of the incident as they declared the shooting justified, claiming Villegas Gonzalez had driven his car at the officers, and that an officer had been struck and "dragged a significant distance," causing serious injury.

DHS stuck to that story until body cam video showing the aftermath caught the agent in question describing his own injuries as "nothing major."

"I got dragged a little bit," the agent says in the video.

The lawsuit also says the federal government "smeared Silverio's name to try to justify his killing, falsely claiming that Silverio was 'a criminal illegal alien with a history of reckless driving.'" Villegas Garcia did not have a criminal record beyond a handful of traffic citations, with one moving violation in 2013.

The lawsuit notes that in the more than a year since Villegas Gonzalez's death, the government has not identified the agent who killed him, conducted a full investigation into his death, corrected its account of the shooting and his criminal history, or provided any recompense to his family, including his two sons.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for damages to Villegas Gonzaelz's car amounting to approximately $10,000, and damages for his family for personal injury, wrongful death, mental suffering, grief, sorrow, pecuniary loss and any other recoverable damages under Illinois law. 

In May, Illinois State Police announced they are investigating Villegas Gonzalez's shooting, but the results of that investigation have not yet been made public.

CBS News Chicago has reached out to DHS for their comment on this tort claim and is waiting to hear back.