The family of Silverio Villegas González, the man shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during Operation Midway Blitz, filed a complaint on Thursday seeking compensation from the federal government for his death.
Villegas González’s brother, José Villegas González, filed the administrative complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act on behalf of his brother’s estate, seeking compensation for his “wrongful death.” The claim is a required step before suing the federal government.
Jonathan Manes, an attorney with the MacArthur Justice Center who represents the family, said they expect to seek “a very large sum of money,” but would not provide a total amount.
The claim lists approximately $10,000 for damage to Villegas González’s car and its contents, although that’s separate from compensation for his suffering and the family’s emotional and financial losses.
“We’re not focused on the number at this point,” Manes said. “It’s about getting the truth and getting accountability for what happened to Silverio.”
The complaint alleges that two ICE agents created a dangerous confrontation and shot Villegas González when they could have stepped away from his car. It also accuses ICE and Department of Homeland Security officials of failing to properly train and supervise its officers.
Villegas González, 38, had immigrated from Mexico and lived in the United States for about 18 years before his death. He worked as a line cook and was raising two sons.
He had dropped his children off at school and daycare and was headed to work on Sept. 12, 2025, when the two ICE agents tried to stop his car in Franklin Park and one of them shot Villegas González. He later died at Loyola University Medical Center.
After the shooting, DHS said Villegas González had fled a traffic stop and dragged one officer “a significant distance.” The department said the agent was seriously injured and had opened fire because he feared for his life.
But police body-camera footage obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times showed the officer describing his injuries as ‘nothing major.” His partner reported a knee injury and cuts to his hands.
The complaint filed by Villegas González’s family relies on surveillance video, police footage and ambulance and autopsy reports to challenge the government’s account.
Manes said the government defended the shooting before it could have investigated what happened.
“The very day Silverio was killed, before there could have been any kind of investigation, they were already calling it justified,” he said.
When Villegas González tried to drive away, the officer on the driver’s side of his car held onto the window rather than stepping aside, Manes said.
“He’s not in the path of the vehicle,” Manes said. “And shooting Silverio does nothing but kill him and make the car completely out of control.”
“DHS policy confirms you cannot shoot at a person just because they’re driving away,” he added.
José Villegas González is seeking compensation on behalf of his brother’s estate for pain and suffering before he died and the family’s “mental suffering,” including his children’s loss of their father’s “emotional” and “financial” support according to the complaint. Manes said Villegas González struggled to breathe and stay alive after being shot in the neck.
The compensation would benefit Villegas González’s children and spouse, not his brother, Manes said. The claim describes Villegas González as his sons’ primary parent. After his death, the children were placed in foster care in Idaho, far from their Chicago-area relatives.
DHS told the Sun-Times in July that federal prosecutors declined to charge the agent who shot and killed Villegas González. Federal officials still have not publicly explained why. Manes said the family has not received an incident report or the names of the officers involved.
The FBI declined to discuss its investigation into the fatal shooting, citing a Justice Department policy. But in a statement said the agency “responded to the incident in Franklin Park and assisted law enforcement on-scene.”
Franklin Park waited more than seven months to ask Illinois State Police to investigate, making the request on the same day the Illinois Accountability Commission released a damning report on Midway Blitz.
The state investigation remains open.
“A year has not erased or diminished the ache we feel in his absence,” José Villegas González and his wife, Ana Villegas, said in a statement in September.
The tort complaint gives DHS and the FBI a chance to review the allegations and consider a settlement. If the government denies it or does not make a final decision within six months, the family can move forward with a lawsuit.