About 50 people gathered Saturday morning at Grand Avenue and Emerson Street in Franklin Park for a mass at the site where Silverio Villegas González was killed by federal immigration agents on the one year anniversary of his death.
The Catholic mass was led by the Revs. Leandro Fossa and Brendan Curran. Visitors brought flowers, lit candles, and wore shirts and pins with Villegas González’s picture on them.
Pins with Silverio Villegas González’s picture are given to attendees during a mass and memorial commemorating the one-year anniversary of the killing of Silverio Villegas González at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Emerson Street in Franklin Park, Ill., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. González was shot and killed by federal immigration agents during a traffic stop in 2025.
Sun-Times staff
Villegas González was fatally shot by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Sept. 12, 2025 — four days after President Donald Trump’s administration launched Operation Midway Blitz, the deportation campaign that rocked the Chicago area last fall.
Luis Kevin Islas, founder of Unidos Sembrando Futuro, receives a hug during a mass and memorial commemorating the one-year anniversary of the killing of Silverio Villegas González at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Emerson Street in Franklin Park, Ill., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. González was shot and killed by federal immigration agents during a traffic stop in 2025.
Sun-Times staff
Villegas González had dropped his kids off at school and was headed to work when two ICE officers tried to stop his car in Franklin Park and one of them opened fire. Villegas González had emigrated from Mexico and was targeted because he didn’t have legal status in the U.S.
“Even though many of us didn’t know him personally, we all share a connection with him and his family,” state Rep. Norma Hernandez (104th) said. “Because when we saw what happened to Silverio, we saw one of our own — we saw a father, a worker, a member of our community, and a person who deserved to return home to his family.”
An image of the Virgin Mary hangs on a tree during a mass and memorial commemorating the one-year anniversary of the killing of Silverio Villegas González at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Emerson Street in Franklin Park, Ill., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. González was shot and killed by federal immigration agents during a traffic stop in 2025.
Sun-Times staff
Franklin Park trustee Irene Avitia said the effects of the father’s killing had an immediate and wide reach.
“Our schools were placed on lockdown,” she said. “Fear and anger began to spread among our families and neighbors. Our community was outraged. What happened during that reckless ICE apprehension put us all at risk.”
Andres Duarte, a volunteer at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Melrose Park, lights candles during a mass and memorial commemorating the one-year anniversary of the killing of Silverio Villegas González at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Emerson Street in Franklin Park, Ill., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. González was shot and killed by federal immigration agents during a traffic stop in 2025.
Sun-Times staff