A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a man in the Chicago area who was resisting arrest during a vehicle stop and tried to drive his car into ICE officers, a representative for the agency said on Friday.
The man, who the authorities said was not legally in the country, dragged the officer as he fled in his car, the agency representative said. The officer was severely injured and is now in stable condition.
The man was identified by ICE as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
“We are praying for the speedy recovery of our law enforcement officer,” Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. “Viral social media videos and activists encouraging illegal aliens to resist law enforcement not only spread misinformation but also undermine public safety, as well as the safety of our officers and those being apprehended.”
ICE has been conducting a higher number of immigration arrests than usual in the Chicago area this week, under an effort called Operation Midway Blitz.
That operation has led to the arrests of several people, including those accused of robbery, assault and other violent crimes, the agency said on Wednesday.
Residents of Chicago and its suburbs have been watchful for ICE agents and vehicles throughout the area, reporting ICE activity to hotlines and websites tracking their whereabouts. Local officials said they had seen an uptick in agent sightings since last weekend.
An immigrant advocacy group said the incident on Friday took place in Franklin Park, a suburb of Chicago near O’Hare International Airport.
The Franklin Park Police Department referred questions to the F.B.I.
Don Terry, a spokesman for Chicago Police Department, said that the incident did not occur in Chicago.
Julie Bosman is the Chicago bureau chief for The Times, writing and reporting stories from around the Midwest.
Hamed Aleaziz covers the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy for The Times.
Jesus Jiménez is a Times reporter covering Southern California.
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