In a rural town in Michoacán, Mexico, the Villegas González family still mourns the loss of Silverio Villegas González, who was killed by an immigration enforcement agent during a traffic stop in Franklin Park during the early days of Operation Midway Blitz.
Yet in their mourning, they grieve for not just one loss, but three.
The family’s pain is compounded by the fact that they have not been able to see or talk to Villegas González’s two sons, who are now 8 and 4 years old and living in foster care in Idaho.
At the time of his death, Villegas González had been seeking full custody of his children in the Idaho courts because their mother had moved to the state about four years ago, the family said. The children were living with Villegas González when he was killed because he had already obtained partial custody.
Since then, the children’s mother lost custody, the family said. And now Villegas González’s oldest brother, José Villegas, and his wife, both U.S. citizens who live in the Chicago area, are beginning the legal process through an attorney to adopt the children.
“What is most important to us is to keep fighting to bring them home with us,” his sister Graciela Villegas told the Tribune. “Everything we are doing now is because we love them. They are probably experiencing greater pain than we are. We won’t give up.”
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare declined to comment, stating that “child welfare cases were confidential.”
Villegas González, 38, had just dropped off his children at daycare on Sept. 12 and was on his way to work when agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pulled him over near the intersection of Grand Avenue and Elder Lane in the near west suburb.
During the confrontation, Villegas González was shot in the neck before crashing his car into a semitrailer, officials have said.
The Department of Homeland Security had claimed that Villegas González dragged an officer with his vehicle and attempted to run him over, causing serious injuries, and said agents had targeted him because of his criminal background of “reckless driving.”
The Tribune found no criminal history for Villegas González, who had been living in the Chicago area for the past 18 years.
The images from a video taken of the killing still haunt Graciela Villegas.
Villegas González only ever dreamed of being “the best father he could be,” his sister said.
More Top Picks Greenworks G Max 40v
After his death, Illinois Democratic leaders sent a letter to former Homeland Security Secretary Director Kristi Noem asking for transparency and accountability about the fatal shooting and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum demanded a “thorough investigation.”
Reyna Torres Mendivil, Mexico’s consul general in Chicago, said the Mexican government continues to support Villegas Gonzalez’s family with legal representation as they seek to reunite his children.
Though the children have not been able to communicate with their family in Mexico, consulate representatives have traveled with José Villegas to Idaho to visit the children several times.
Now, nearly a year after Villegas Gonzalez’s death, his family is also seeking accountability.
In May, the Illinois State Police announced the Franklin Park Police Department requested the department’s Public Integrity Task Force to investigate the shooting. Once the investigation was completed, the department said the case would be turned over to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
“We stand ready to support any law enforcement investigation and will consider charges after an investigation has been presented to us,” Elyssa Cherney, a spokesperson for the state’s attorney office, told the Tribune.
Jonathan Manes, senior counsel in the Illinois office of the MacArthur Justice Center, said his organization and the National Immigrant Justice Center are representing the Villegas González family as they investigate the shooting and explore legal actions against the U.S. government.
“We’re seeking to hold those that are responsible for Silverio’s death accountable under law and bring the truth to light about the circumstances of his death,” Manes said.
According to Manes, any lawsuit in regards to Villegas González’s death would be brought against the federal government.
“It’s brought under something called the Federal Tort Claims Act, and that’s because under federal law the United States is liable for the wrongful actions of its employees. So the lawsuit would be against the United States, because of the conduct of the individual officers involved,” Manes said.
Manes challenged the government’s account of the shooting, saying the evidence gathered by his team thus far does not match official statements.
“I think it’s important to note that the government’s official statements about the shooting don’t match the physical, visual and forensic evidence that we’ve been able to gather,” he said.
Nearly a year after the shooting, Manes said he remains concerned about the lack of publicly released information about the government’s investigation.
“I think it’s shocking that a year later the government has refused to release any information about its supposed investigation,” he said. “The government hasn’t even provided the name of the ICE officer who took Silverio’s life on our streets.”
That level of secrecy, Manes said, is contrary to the basic protocols of law enforcement agencies all across the country.
For the family, the loss has been compounded by what Manes described as attacks against Villegas González’s character from government officials. Despite the pain and the long wait for answers, the family remains committed to seeking justice.
“Silverio’s family wants to vindicate his good name, expose the truth and get justice for his death,” Manes said.
More Top Picks Best Electric Guitars For Beginners
Their father is very sick, his sister said. And their elderly mother still cries and has started seeing a thanatologist as she grapples with the killing of one of her youngest children.
In Franklin Park, Hijas del Pueblo and other community members have kept a temporary memorial at Grand Avenue and Emerson Street to honor Villegas González. On Aug. 17, the village board approved a permanent memorial.
baiduhai reporter Caroline Kubzansky contributed.