Story perspectives

ICE Officer Shoots Venezuelan Driver in Austin, Seriously Injured

By Drooid · Sep 22, 2026, 2:13 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

ICE Officer Shoots

ICE officer shot and wounded Venezuelan delivery driver Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in Austin.
He was hit in the torso, hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Garces Perez was transferred to an ICE detention center in Pearsall on Sunday.
Homeland Security Investigations leads the probe with FBI assistance while Mayor Kirk Watson demands local police involvement.
About 100 protesters gathered at the overpass, waving flags and chanting against ICE.

Summary

DHS Ends Parole

Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch says Perez remains in a cold cell without a bed.
Perez reported left-side paralysis and a fractured clavicle after the shooting.
Staff cannot remove the bullet because it lies near his spinal cord.
He is denied pain medication while the bullet remains lodged in his back.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated parole status for migrants who entered via CBP One app, urging them to leave.

History

Historical Context

Operation Wetback, launched in June 1954 by the Eisenhower administration and led by General Joseph M. Swing, deployed military-style raids that produced over 250,000 returns in the 1955 fiscal year. That aggressive enforcement legacy resurfaces in Austin, where an ICE officer fatally shot Venezuelan driver Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, prompting renewed calls for detention reform.

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ICE Officer Shoots

ICE officer shot and wounded Venezuelan delivery driver Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in Austin.
He was hit in the torso, hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Garces Perez was transferred to an ICE detention center in Pearsall on Sunday.
Homeland Security Investigations leads the probe with FBI assistance while Mayor Kirk Watson demands local police involvement.
About 100 protesters gathered at the overpass, waving flags and chanting against ICE.

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