A federal judge has intervened to prevent the deportation of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan immigrant, who was shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Austin. Perez’s attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, announced that a federal lawsuit has been filed on his behalf. The judge has mandated Perez’s presence at a hearing scheduled for September 30.
Lincoln-Goldfinch confirmed the temporary halt on his deportation, allowing the case to proceed. She highlighted Perez’s ongoing need for medical care, noting the bullet remains in his body and he’s experiencing significant pain. The incident occurred while Perez was delivering a DoorDash order; he made a U-turn, leading ICE agents to follow him.
Perez was sideswiped by the agents’ vehicle, receiving a neck wound from a gunshot, and was subsequently removed from his car.
Perez had a final removal order, but Lincoln-Goldfinch asserted the order was issued after a hearing notice was mistakenly sent to his previous address, despite updated court information.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza reached out to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Director David Venturella, seeking permission for Perez to remain in the U.S. during an investigation. Representative Greg Casar and over 100 Congress members echoed this request for Perez’s release for medical treatment.
Their letter emphasized Perez as a pivotal witness to the shooting, urging the preservation of evidence and expressing concern over ICE’s track record with similar probes.
Sources disclosed to Fox News that the ICE officer involved is relatively new, yet has substantial law enforcement experience, including time with the U.S. Border Patrol. However, the officer was not equipped with a body camera during the incident. ICE aims for full officer camera integration by the month’s end.
Training records indicate the officer completed extensive training, scoring 99.2% in pistol qualification and undergoing various scenario-based and legal instruction sessions.
Following the shooting, some Democrats criticized ICE as being disruptive and jeopardizing community safety. Concurrently, the Department of Homeland Security published a list of various individuals arrested in Texas, highlighting offenses from planning terror attacks to solicitation of violence against ICE agents.