A 28-year-old Venezuelan man, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, remains in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Texas after being shot by an ICE officer during a traffic stop in Austin on Sunday. Perez was making a DoorDash delivery when his vehicle was sideswiped twice by agents driving an unmarked truck. According to Perez and his attorney, he was shot in the back of the neck without warning while attempting to pull over, with the ICE vehicle not displaying any emergency lights or sirens.
Perez was hospitalized in serious but stable condition and later released with a bullet still lodged near his spine. Despite the injury, reports indicate that Perez was taken into ICE custody within hours and was initially provided limited medical care, with Perez stating he was forced to sleep on the floor and experienced delays in receiving pain medication. He was transferred to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, approximately 130 miles southwest of Austin.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, confirmed it is investigating the shooting but has provided few details about the circumstances prompting the use of force. Officials noted that Perez has a final order of removal and described him as being in stable condition. ICE has not publicly addressed the timing of Perez’s hospital discharge or his subsequent detention. Local authorities, including Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, stated that local police were not involved in the incident, which occurred following a traffic stop.
Perez’s attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said he entered the United States lawfully through a now-defunct asylum parole program administered during the Biden administration. Perez holds a work permit and drove for DoorDash to support himself. The removal order stemmed from his missing an immigration hearing notice sent to a former residence after he had moved. Lincoln-Goldfinch condemned the shooting as an “unwarranted” use of force and called for an independent investigation, emphasizing that Perez has no criminal history.
The incident has sparked protests and increased calls for transparency. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson urged local law enforcement to participate in an independent inquiry, arguing that ICE should not investigate the shooting alone. Advocacy groups and elected officials, including Rep. Greg Casar, have criticized the federal government’s handling of the case, emphasizing the need for medical care over deportation and demanding the release of any video evidence.
A bystander’s video captured the moments leading to the shooting, showing the blue Toyota Corolla Perez was driving stopped under an overpass beside a dark SUV before gunshots were heard. Perez’s family in Venezuela describes him as a law-abiding individual who came to the U.S. legally seeking asylum. The case adds to a series of controversial shootings involving ICE and border agents in recent years, a period marked by increased enforcement activity and scrutiny over the use of force during immigration operations.