Just a year after Silverio Villegas González was fatally shot by an immigration enforcement agent during a traffic stop in Franklin Park, his family is seeking accountability from the federal government.
Attorneys representing Villegas González’s family filed a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act Thursday morning, the first formal step toward a potential lawsuit against the United States over his death.
The claim alleges that Villegas González, 38, was “unnecessarily and unlawfully” killed by an ICE officer and that federal officials subsequently misrepresented the circumstances of the shooting and failed to properly investigate it. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to request for comment.
“This claim is the first step towards seeking real accountability for Silverio’s death,” said Jonathan Manes, senior counsel in the Illinois office of the MacArthur Justice Center, which is representing the family with the National Immigrant Justice Center. “The point of this is to put the government on notice that we intend to sue, to establish the truth about what happened to Silverio, how he was killed by an officer unjustifiably and unnecessarily, and to get accountability for his death.”
The filing comes as questions remain about the federal government’s investigation into Villegas González’s death. More than a year after the Sept. 12, 2025, shooting, the government has not publicly identified the ICE officer who fired the fatal shot or released its investigative findings.
Villegas González had just dropped off his two young sons at day care and was on his way to work when ICE agents pulled him over near Grand Avenue and Elder Lane in Franklin Park, a west suburb of Chicago, during the early days of Operation Midway Blitz.
During the confrontation, Villegas González was shot in the neck before crashing his 2004 Subaru into a semitrailer.
DHS said shortly after the shooting that Villegas González had refused commands and driven his vehicle at officers, striking and dragging one of them “a significant distance.” The officer, fearing for his life, fired his weapon, federal officials said.
Later, witnesses and video evidence challenged the government’s narrative. The family’s attorneys also dispute that account.
“The available video evidence demonstrates that Silverio was driving away from the officers, not at them,” the claim states. “Video and the medical examiner’s report demonstrates that the shooting officer was standing alongside the vehicle, not in its path.”
The claim also points to body-camera footage from Franklin Park police in which the ICE officer who was allegedly injured tells officers at the scene that his injuries were “nothing major.”
The Cook County medical examiner’s report found that Villegas González was shot in the left side of his neck by a bullet that traveled downward and lodged in his lower-right chest. The trajectory shows the officer was standing alongside the driver’s side of the vehicle when he fired.
“The medical examiner concluded that the person who killed Silverio fired downward into his neck from close range,” the claim states. “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.”
The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.
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The claim also challenges the government’s characterization of Villegas González as “a criminal illegal alien with a history of reckless driving.”
“Silverio was not a criminal,” the claim states. “All he had was a handful of traffic citations — with the sole moving violation dating back more than a decade to 2013.”
The Tribune found no criminal records under Villegas González’s name.
Illinois officials have also raised concerns about the lack of cooperation from the federal government.
Illinois State Police announced in May that the Franklin Park Police Department requested that its Public Integrity Task Force investigate the shooting. Once completed, the investigation is expected to be turned over to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
But Gov. JB Pritzker said that the federal government’s refusal to provide requested evidence and make agents available for interviews has made the state investigation “near impossible to complete.”
The federal government, he said, has not provided information Illinois requested about the shooting or made agents available to give testimony.
“We don’t even know the name of the officers who shot and killed Silverio on the streets,” Manes said.
The federal tort claim names DHS and ICE because an ICE officer shot González. It also names the FBI, according to Manes, because of the agency’s involvement in the investigation.
“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 added.
For Villegas González’s family, the fight for accountability is intertwined with the fight to get custody of his two sons, the last people he saw the morning of his death.
Within three days of their father’s death, the children were taken by Idaho authorities and placed in foster care in eastern Idaho, thousands of miles from their relatives in Chicago and Mexico, according to the claim.
Villegas González had been fighting for custody of the boys after their mother had moved to Idaho. He had already obtained partial custody and was close to being awarded permanent sole custody, according to the claim and family members.
The boys’ mother later lost parental rights, the family said.
Today, Villegas González’s oldest brother, José Villegas, and his wife, both U.S. citizens living in the Chicago area, are pursuing adoption of the boys.
“What is most important to us is to keep fighting to bring them home with us,” Villegas González’s sister, Graciela Villegas, told the Tribune.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of child welfare cases.
Reyna Torres Mendivil, Mexico’s consul general in Chicago, said the Mexican government continues to support the family with legal representation as they seek to reunite with the children. Consulate representatives have traveled with José Villegas to Idaho several times to visit the boys, who have not been able to communicate with their family in Mexico.
Manes said the children remain at the center of the family’s legal efforts.
“The point of this lawsuit is to benefit the children,” he said. “José, as Silverio’s brother, doesn’t stand to gain a penny from this lawsuit.”
Any compensation obtained from the federal government would go to Villegas González’s immediate family, including his children, he said.
“You can’t compensate a person for the loss of a father, for the loss of a father’s love, for the loss of that guidance,” Manes said. “But money’s the best we can do, and that’s what they’re trying to do for the kids to make sure that they are taken care of.”
For Manes, clearing Villegas González’s name is an important part of the family’s pursuit of justice.
“The wounds are still fresh for his family,” he said. “What they want more than anything is for the truth to come out, to clear Silverio’s good name because the government falsely smeared him and for there to be justice for his death.”
The claim seeks damages for Villegas González’s death, the loss suffered by his children and spouse, and damage to his vehicle and its contents, which attorneys estimate are at least $10,000.
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It also seeks damages under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act and Survival Act. Manes said the family intends to move forward as quickly as possible.
“There needs to be accountability for federal officers who illegally and unnecessarily kill people on our streets,” he said. “This is a step towards accountability that Silverio’s family can take, but there needs to be accountability from the federal government and also from our local prosecutor here in Illinois.”