Venezuelan wounded by ICE in Texas hospitalized again — TimesLIVE
In Austin, Texas, 28-year-old Venezuelan Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, who was wounded by an officer of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was taken back to the hospital on Monday evening. His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said this, TimesLIVE reports.
Perez's and his attorney's account
According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, Perez was making DoorDash deliveries in Austin on Sunday when an unmarked vehicle carrying ICE officers struck his car twice. After he was wounded, the man was taken to hospital, but was transferred into ICE custody later that same day, although the bullet remained in his body.
During a phone appearance at a press conference, Perez said doctors did not remove the bullet because of its proximity to his spine. He also said ICE insisted on his swift discharge in order to transfer him to a detention center. According to Perez, at the center he did not receive pain medication or treatment, slept on the floor, and only received a pill from a nurse on Monday.
Perez claims that ICE officers did not tell him to stop and turned on their flashing lights only after they struck his vehicle. According to his account, he made a U-turn and was trying to park when his car was rammed and he was wounded in the back of the neck.
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Response and investigation
Before being hospitalized again, Perez was held at the ICE South Texas Processing Center in Pearsall, about 209 km southwest of Austin. His attorney said that during a phone call, he told her about being questioned at the center.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said it was investigating the shooting involving the Venezuelan, who, according to the department's position, was in the United States illegally and had a final removal order. The department did not explain what preceded the use of the weapon.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said Perez legally entered the United States in 2024 through the CBP One program, applied for asylum, and had a valid work permit. According to her, a judge issued a deportation order after the man missed an immigration hearing because the notice had been sent to his previous address.
Texas Democratic Congressman Greg Casar called Perez's return to the hospital a positive first step. Local activists, representatives of the League of United Latin American Citizens, and two Democratic congressmen called for the creation of an independent body to review cases involving ICE officers' use of force. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said local police should be involved in the investigation.
