Joint Statement: Condemning ICE Agents’ Fatal Shooting of Franklin Park Resident

Franklin Park, IL – Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery and West Suburban Teachers Union, AFT/IFT Local 571, President Kyle Stern issued the following statement on today’s fatal ICE shooting of a Franklin Park resident:

“We are heartbroken by today’s fatal incident in which a man was shot and killed by an ICE agent near a Franklin Park school. Violence has no place in our communities, and it should never occur near schools where children learn and families gather. This incident intensifies the fear that immigrant families, and indeed Black and Brown American citizens, already live with every day--the fear of being targeted and detained, and the fear of their families being torn apart. Our schools must be sanctuaries for all students and families, not places where ICE spreads terror.

“We condemn this act in the strongest possible terms and demand: ICE, hands off Franklin Park. We stand in solidarity with Franklin Park residents, our educators who work there, and our students. Our communities must remain safe zones, free from raids, shootings, intimidation, and terror. This is the sadly predictable fruit of the Trump administration’s ending a longstanding bipartisan policy regarding “sensitive locations;” that is, now the federal government doesn’t care to keep places of worship, hospitals, and schools free from needless paramilitary intrusion. We say shame on the federal administration for this. End this politically motivated and lethal theater now.

“We join Governor Pritzker in calling for a full, factual accounting of this fatal ICE shooting. The public deserves transparency and answers, and immigrant communities deserve to know that their lives are valued and protected.”

###