Residents and activists are scared, heartbroken and “furious” as they remember the man shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a traffic stop in Franklin Park last week.
A vigil for Silverio Villegas González, 38, a “devoted father” of two and “kind soul” slain by ICE agents in Franklin Park culminated with a march to the Franklin Park police station Monday night.
Dozens of community members and activists gathered at the corner of Grand Avenue and Emerson Street on Monday evening, at the site of a memorial composed of candles, cards, messages and flowers. In the crowd was state Rep. Norma Hernández, 77th, who joined other officials calling for more information about Villegas González’s death.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday called for a “full, factual accounting of what’s happened,” and Hernández agreed that a thorough investigation of what happened on Friday is needed. For now, she’s trying to meet with Villegas González’s family to connect them with resources, including child care. Villegas González had sole custody of his two children, according to people who attended the vigil.
Hernández said she also hopes that a federal lawsuit would be filed.
ICE was “wrong by even wanting to pull him over, because it was out of their authority,” she said. “If it was something with a driving infraction, that’s a civil offense. It’s not a criminal violation.”
“When you get trained to be a law enforcement officer, you have to weigh the risk, not only as yourself as the individual, but the people around you. And they definitely did not do that,” she said.
Neighbor Imelda López carefully lighted all the candles at the memorial.
López said one of Villegas González’s friends told her: “You don’t know how hard he worked to get his children back.”
Also at the vigil were Tracy Quiñonez and her daughter, Gabi Cosme.
“I’m furious,” Quiñonez said. “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.”
Cosme, whose kids attend the same schools as Villegas González’s, described him as a “jolly” person who always smiled at everyone.
“Every time I saw him with his kids, his kids were so happy,” she said. “This has been very heavy on my mind. The fact that it happened so close to us, you just don’t come to terms with it.”
The Mexican government has requested “a thorough investigation,” according to Reyna Torres Mendivil, the consul general of Mexico in Chicago.
Villegas González’s family has requested that his remains be sent back to Mexico. The consulate is waiting for the medical examiner’s office to release his remains in order to help facilitate this process.
Villegas González’s parents, senior citizens who have health problems, are devastated by what happened to their son, Torres Mendivil said.
“It’s always a tragedy when you know you send your kids here, or your kids decide to come here in search of a better life, and then you hear the news that some of them lost, in this case, his life, “ Torres Mendivil said.
The consulate is in contact with Villegas González’s partner and brothers and making sure that his kids “are in a safe place,” Torres Mendivil said.
In her six years as consul general, Torres Mendivil said this is the first time she’s dealt with an incident of this magnitude.
And she has a message for the Mexican community in Chicago: “Let’s be informed. Let’s be united, and let’s take care of each other.”
“May Silverio’s memory live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved him,” a Gofundme page posted over the weekend says.
Lily Rivera, the fund’s organizer, said Villegas González was a “cherished friend” and called his killing shortly after dropping his child off at school “cruel.”
Villegas González leaves behind him “a legacy of warmth, resilience, and deep compassion,” and he “always extended a helping hand, shared his smile freely, and showed up for those he loved — no matter the circumstances,” the page reads.
Just before the incident Friday, Villegas González had dropped off his 3-year-old son at the Small World Learning Center, just down the street from the scene of the shooting, Mary P. Meier, director of day care, said Monday. Mental health professionals visited the day care after the shooting to help staff process the incident, she said.
“He was friendly, very polite and respectful,” Meier said. “If we needed something he’d bring it. His child seemed happy and well-adjusted.”
She added: “I’ve been here 35 years, and this is the first time something like this has happened.”
Villegas González’s 7-year-old son attended nearby Passow Elementary, according to Franklin Park School District 84.
Some of the parents who lined up to pick up their children at Passow on Monday afternoon said they were more fearful about being stopped on their way to school after what happened to Villegas González. About 75% of the school’s students are Hispanic.
Mia, mother of a first grader at Passow, shared concerns about being stopped on her way to school because she is Hispanic.
“We’re scared to even take our kids to school,” said Mia, who asked that her last name be withheld. “It puts us in that frame of mind like, do we take our kids to school or are we going to be discriminated against? This is inhumane.”
Several mourners stopped at a memorial for Villegas González, leaving flowers, cards and signs reading “ICE out of Chicago.”
Karla Solis was among the early crowd, leaving a white flower at the memorial.
“It’s just scary to think this could have been my parents,” Solis said.
Solis’ parents, immigrants from Mexico, have been nervous to leave the house for the last year, but even more so in the wake of Villegas González’s killing, she said. She’s been grocery shopping for them so they can stay out of view of ICE, she said.
“I wish my parents could feel comfortable, but they don’t,” she said. “You don’t want to see your parents scared.”
Vanessa — a lifelong Franklin Park-area resident who declined to give her full name out of fear of retribution — said she cried when she first heard the news of Villegas González’s death. She too has immigrant parents from Mexico and is frustrated by the characterization of Villegas González and other immigrants as “dangerous criminals.”
“They try to portray all immigrants as criminals or drug dealers; it’s just really hurtful to see that racism in our country and how normalized it’s becoming,” she said.
But seeing the memorial eased some of the pain she has been sharing with her community, she said.
Contributing: Kyra Senese and Violet Miller