Federal prosecutors in Texas have charged a Venezuelan delivery driver with assaulting a federal officer after he was shot by an immigration agent during a traffic stop in Austin last month. Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, faces one count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.

Garces Perez was shot on September 20 during an encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and has a bullet still lodged in his back. He made his initial appearance in federal court in Austin on Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas stated that Garces Perez has been held in detention since the incident and that his attorneys have filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent his removal from the United States.

According to the complaint, Garces Perez struck an officer with his driver’s side mirror during an attempt to flee, and later tried to hit the same officer with his vehicle during a brief pursuit. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. A DHS spokesperson declined immediate comment and referred inquiries to the Department of Justice, while Garces Perez’s attorney did not issue a statement.

Court documents and a nine-page affidavit from a Department of Homeland Security agent offer the most detailed government account to date. Officers pulled Garces Perez over near a shopping center around noon, where he was making a DoorDash delivery. After running a database check, agents learned the vehicle was registered to Garces Perez, who had a final order of removal from the United States. Although he provided his driver’s license through a partly lowered window, he refused multiple requests to exit his car, reportedly because he wanted to wait for his wife to arrive and retrieve the vehicle.

The affidavit described the interaction as mostly calm and conversational. However, Garces Perez suddenly rolled up the window and drove away, prompting a short pursuit. The complaint alleges that he struck an officer’s hand with the car mirror before attempting to hit the officer with the vehicle again.

Garces Perez entered the U.S. in 2024 via the CBP One program, initiated under President Joe Biden to allow migrants to request asylum appointments. The Trump administration later terminated the program. His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said he was an asylum seeker with a valid work permit and that a deportation order was issued after he missed a hearing notice sent to an old address.

The affidavit also includes Garces Perez’s version of events, which differs significantly from the federal government’s account. He told investigators that a law enforcement vehicle had struck his car during the chase, causing it to spin, before an agent fired shots, hitting him in the back. According to U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons, the shooting occurred after Garces Perez attempted to strike an officer with his car. The officer involved has not been publicly identified and was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting.

The incident has reignited protests and criticism from Democrats who oppose the current administration’s immigration enforcement policies.