Lawrence Benito is the chief executive officer and executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Case
Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez during a Chicago vehicle confrontation. Agents said she drove at Exum; Martinez and a later state review said she was driving away.
Case
An ICE agent fatally shot Silverio Villegas González in Franklin Park. DHS says he struck and dragged an officer; a state commission's video review said key parts of that account were not established.
Role at the time: Executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Statement summary
Benito cited the Martinez shooting as evidence that ICE does not keep communities safe.
“Whether it be the apartment raids in South Shore, the shooting of Marimar Martinez in Brighton Park, or the murder of Silverio Villegas González, it’s been proven that ICE does NOT keep us safe - they are designed to intimidate communities of color and deport as many people as possible.”
He uses the shooting as a principal example in a broader condemnation of ICE’s conduct.
Role at the time: Executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Statement summary
Benito called Villegas González’s death a murder and said it showed that ICE does not keep communities safe.
“Whether it be the apartment raids in South Shore, the shooting of Marimar Martinez in Brighton Park, or the murder of Silverio Villegas González, it’s been proven that ICE does NOT keep us safe - they are designed to intimidate communities of color and deport as many people as possible.”
He explicitly labels the death a murder and uses it to condemn ICE’s conduct.
Statement dates: September 9, 2026
Statement dates: September 9, 2026
Statement dates: September 9, 2026
Statement dates: September 9, 2026
