ICE shooting of Venezuelan man investigated; lawyer says bullet lodged in back

A Venezuelan man, Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, September 20, 2026, while he was reportedly making a DoorDash delivery. According to his lawyer, ICE officers in an unmarked vehicle allegedly sideswiped his car twice before the shooting occurred, with video footage appearing to show an officer firing three times at Garcés Pérez's vehicle. Garcés Pérez sustained a gunshot wound to his back and was initially transported to a local hospital in serious but stable condition.

Following his hospital release, Garcés Pérez was taken into ICE custody at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, approximately 130 miles southwest of Austin. His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, reports that the bullet remains lodged near his spine and that he has not received adequate medical attention or pain medication at the detention facility. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated Garcés Pérez had a final order of removal, his lawyer asserts he is an asylum seeker who entered the U.S. legally in 2024 and has no criminal history, claiming he missed a court hearing due to an incorrect address.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has initiated an investigation into the shooting with assistance from the FBI. However, Austin city officials, including Mayor Kirk Watson, have called for an independent investigation involving local authorities, such as the Austin police and Texas Rangers, citing a lack of public trust in DHS to conduct its own probe. This incident comes amidst a reported increase in ICE enforcement actions across the country.