Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Sunday that last week’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis is hardly the first time immigration agents have pushed into legally questionable territory.
He pointed to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in the Chicago area, known as Operation Midway Blitz, that led to the fatal shooting of 38‑year‑old Silverio Villegas Gonzalez during a traffic stop in September and the shooting of 30‑year‑old Marimar Martinez.
Mr. Pritzker, a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, said that in each case, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her top public affairs aide, Tricia McLaughlin, rushed to judgment before knowing the facts.
“We didn’t know what the facts were, because there weren’t cameras on situations,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But then witnesses came forward, and we found out what really happened in both those situations, and that is why we know that ICE was at fault, and why no charges have been brought against, for example, the woman who was shot five times, who they claimed was a domestic terrorist back then.”
The governor said the same pattern is unfolding in Minneapolis after Wednesday’s shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs agent.
“ICE and [Customs and Border Protection] are breaking their own protocols … not only roughing people up, but literally shooting at people and killing them, when in some cases, they’re U.S. citizens, and they’re doing nothing wrong,” he said.
According to Department of Homeland Security officials, Villegas Gonzales attempted to flee the scene in his car and dragged an ICE officer a significant distance. Fearing for his life, the officer fired his weapon, the agency said.
Critics have noted that body-worn camera footage released by local police a couple of weeks later showed that the agent told police at the scene his injuries were “nothing major.”
The Chicago Tribune reported that the autopsy report showed Villegas Gonzales had “apparent drug paraphernalia” on him at the time and found that he had low levels of cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
Ms. Martinez, meanwhile, was shot by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago in October after she allegedly rammed his vehicle with her car. The U.S. Attorney’s Office dropped charges against her after text messages showed the agent had bragged about the shooting.
Mr. Pritzker argued Sunday that federal authorities have refused to cooperate with local officials investigating the cases and said Vice President J.D. Vance has signaled that the administration believes the federal government has “immunity” in such instances.
The inquiry into the Chicago-area incidents is being handled by the Illinois Accountability Project.
Mr. Pritzker went further, saying Ms. Noem should be impeached — but then had to walk back his characterization of Villegas Gonzalez’s death as a “murder” after CNN host Jake Tapper challenged him.
“OK, let’s call it an alleged murder,” he said. “You’re 100% right. There should, in fact, be due process.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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