In the Chicago region, Operation Midway Blitz has seen two incidents involving federal immigration agents discharging their firearms, with one resulting in a fatality.

ICE agents are instructed that deadly force is justified only when they reasonably believe an individual poses a severe threat of death or serious injury. This directive is explicit in guiding their actions, especially when dealing with fleeing suspects.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s remarks following a recent shooting in Minneapolis echo nearly identical responses from the DHS regarding two previous shootings linked to immigration enforcement in Chicago.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

The first of these incidents occurred on September 12 in Franklin Park. An ICE officer shot Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez after he allegedly ignored commands and drove his vehicle towards the officers. According to DHS, the officer, fearing for his life after being struck and seriously injured, discharged his weapon, resulting in Villegas-Gonzalez’s death.

However, body camera footage obtained by ABC7 and the I-Team reveals that the agent who fired the shot described his injuries as minor.

Then on Oct. 4, Marimar Martinez was shot five times by an immigration agent and initially accused of “ambushing” federal agents during an immigration sweep at 39th and South Kedzie. The DHS statement after the shooting in Minneapolis Wednesday mirrors its statement in the Martinez incident almost verbatim, calling Martinez a “domestic terrorist” and accusing her of ramming agents with her vehicle.

“You’re taking these agents from outside areas, away from the border, and placing them into cities they’re not from into situations that are not controlled, and they are not they’re not prepared for this, and they’re not prepared for the general public not being fans of them,” Martinez’s attorney Christopher Parente told the I-Team.

He says the public should be critical of any DHS narrative. When the case against Martinez came before a federal judge in Chicago, all charges against her were dropped by the U.S. Attorney.

“DHS continues to say that Miss Martinez rammed the vehicle, like black and white misstatements,” Parente said.

According to ICE use of force policy, “Deadly force is not authorized solely to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect” unless “there is probable cause to believe that the escape of the subject would pose an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person.”

“If there’s a place for you to step away from, or if there’s an escape route, do you really need to utilize deadly force in that situation. Probably not,” said ABC7 police affairs consultant Bill Kushner.

He told the I-Team this shooting in Minneapolis may come down to officer training.

“Their role was never designed to deal with crowds of people,” Kushner said.

The FBI is now investigating the ICE shooting in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump said the officer that shot and killed a 37-year-old woman was acting in self defense.