Undocumented father killed by ICE agent in Franklin Park shooting had no criminal background, lawyer says

The undocumented father shot and killed by an ICE agent in Franklin Park, Illinois, only had a history of minor traffic violations, not a criminal record, according to his attorney.

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday their agents were targeting Silvero Villegas-Gonzalez for arrest Friday. They said he was a criminal who was in the country illegally, but his attorney Manuel Carednas said that’s not entirely true.

Villegas-Gonzalez’s family shared a photo of him to a GoFundMe page after his death on Friday, saying he had just dropped his two sons at school that morning. DHS says an ICE agent was trying to arrest him when he resisted and attempted to drive his car into agents. That’s when DHS said an agent fatally shot Villegas-Gonzalez.

“When I realized it was our client, first of all I was upset,” Cardenas sad. “It didn’t seem to fit the person that I knew.”

CBS News Chicago Investigators found the 38-year-old father had four traffic violations between 2010 and 2019 for offenses including speeding, an expired driver’s license, not having insurance, and not having a child restraint seat.

Cardenas said he represented Villegas-Gonzales in two of those cases.

“Both of them were resolved favorably, neither of them involved criminal violence,” he said.

Homeland Security said Villegas-Gonzalez had a criminal history of reckless driving, and said he entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time. President Trump says anyone in the U.S. illegally is a criminal.

Cardenas disagrees.

“He was undocumented but he was complying with every single law. He was working,” the attorney said.

Cardenas said Villegas-Gonzalez was respectful, hardworking and willing to comply with what the court required.

“If he had to go to court he would go to court. If he had to pay a fine or he had to do anything the court required, he was very compliant,” said Cardenas.

Cardenas said he wants to see a full investigation into what happened in Franklin Park to prevent another person from dying over a traffic stop.

Not all federal agents are required to wear body cameras and it’s unclear if there is any body camera video of this incident.

The FBI’s Chicago Field Office confirmed it has been informed of the situation and is helping with the investigation.