In brief
A 28‑year‑old Venezuelan national, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, was shot in the back by ICE officers during a detainment in Texas. Judge Orlando Garcia has temporarily halted his removal from the country, ordering that he appear in person for a hearing next week. Garces Perez’s lawyer claims the shooting fractured his clavicle and that he has received inadequate medical care while confined. The Department of Homeland Security calls his case a “false narrative” and insists the officer acted within the law. Local officials and protesters in Austin are calling for an independent investigation and have decried the ICE presence in the city.
A federal judge is preventing the deportation of a Venezuelan DoorDash driver who was shot by ICE officers in Texas.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, lies inside a detention centre with a bullet lodged in his back, according to his lawyer Kate Lincoln‑Goldfinch.
Judge Orlando Garcia, a Clinton appointee, has granted a temporary restraining order that will stay in force until Garces Perez appears in court in person on 30 September.
Following the incident, the Department of Homeland Security denounced the narrative that the drone provided inadequate medical care, calling it a “false narrative”.
“He is an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here and has received some of the best medical care he’s ever had,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
The allegation sparked protests in Austin, where some demonstrators tacked Mexican and Guatemalan flags to the scene and demanded that ICE leave the city. Texas lawmaker Joaquin Castro urged the release of Garces Perez from detention.
During the arrest, the driver was reportedly shut down in a black unmarked ICE vehicle, later shot when the vehicle and officers forced the driver to a position before detaining him. His lawyers raised concerns about how he was handled after the shooting, noting that his communication privileges were revoked and that he was placed in a flat bed without adjustment.
The incident follows the fatal shooting of a man in Houston by an ICE officer, fueling public debate over the use of force by immigration authorities and prompting calls for independent investigations.
