A fatal shooting by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents near Chicago has ignited a firestorm over transparency and accountability, revealing the agents were not wearing body cameras because the program was scrapped by the Trump administration earlier this year.
The incident occurred Friday during a traffic stop in Franklin Park, where agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old immigrant and single father of two, during President Donald Trump’s aggressive move to flood the nation’s cities with soldiers and federal agents in what many fear is an effort to suppress political opposition.
ICE claims González dragged an agent a significant distance with his car, but eyewitness accounts have contradicted that narrative, fueling demands for a full investigation.
The absence of body camera footage has made establishing the truth difficult. A former ICE Chief of Staff, Jason Houser, confirmed that a $25 million pilot program to equip all 6,200 deportation officers with body cams was discontinued soon after President Trump took office in 2025.
As ICE agents swarmed the streets of Chicago, the lack of transparency prompted sharp criticism from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
“We’ve asked ICE for all of the information around it, they have given very little,” Pritzker stated. “If this were the Chicago Police Department… you would have had a lot more information already released. Apparently, ICE is unwilling to provide the transparency that I think the American public deserves.”
This shooting occurred just one week after New Jersey progressive activist Lisa McCormick had publicly called for a federal mandate requiring all military personnel and federal agents to wear body-worn cameras during domestic operations.
McCormick argued that such oversight is critical for accountability, especially amid increased federal immigration enforcement and military occupation of American cities.
“When federal agents inevitably kill an unarmed American citizen during one of these unconstitutional deployments, we deserve video proof—unedited and uncompromised,” McCormick said in her earlier statement. “It is the only way to uncover the truth when justice is denied.”
McCormick, a long-time advocate for police reform and government transparency, concluded by framing the issue as a matter of basic accountability. “If you’re going to walk the streets of America with a badge and a gun, you better be wearing a camera,” she said.
Although he was not a US citizen, the man slain by ICE agents had sole custody of his two children, according to people who attended a vigil at the site of a memorial composed of candles, cards, messages and flowers. .
One of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous and often-cited quotes is, “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”
ICE was “wrong by even wanting to pull him over, because it was out of their authority,” said state Rep. Norma Hernández. “If it was something with a driving infraction, that’s a civil offense. It’s not a criminal violation.”
“I’m furious,” said Tracy Quiñonez, who attended the vigil with her daughter, Gabi Cosme. “It’s only a matter of time until [President Donald Trump] screws with our birthright citizenship. Everyone can choose to not take a stand, but we’re trying to stand up to everything that’s yet to come.”
The Department of Homeland Security has stated the shooting is under review, but it remains unclear which agency is leading the investigation.
The Mexican government has requested “a thorough investigation,” according to Reyna Torres Mendivil, the consul general of Mexico in Chicago.
Public opinion surveys show that Americans generally hold views that reject the domestic use of troops against protesters and for rounding up immigrants in the country.
The case underscores the growing tension between aggressive federal enforcement tactics and the demand for police accountability, a issue now left without its most crucial piece of evidence: an objective recording of the event.