DOJ charges Austin immigrant shot by ICE officer

Federal prosecutors have charged a Venezuelan national who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Austin with assault charges.

According to an affidavit, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was pulled over in a traffic stop by ICE officers after they identified him as having a final order of removal as he was leaving a restaurant.

During the stop, the officers identified themselves as immigration agents and asked Garces Perez to hand them his Texas driver’s license, which he provided. After confirming his identity, the officers asked Garces Perez to step out of the vehicle.

In a statement to investigators, Garces Perez asked to park in a different location because he knew he would be detained and wanted his wife to be able to pick up his car.

He then admitted that he ignored the officers’ commands to exit the vehicle and fled the scene. As he pulled away, he struck one of the officers in the torso with his driver’s side mirror, according to the affidavit.

The incident resulted in a brief high-speed chase through a commercial and residential area.

One ICE officer standing outside the vehicle, who was not wearing a body camera during the incident, claimed Garces Perez attempted to hit him with his car and fired his pistol into the back window of the vehicle, striking Garces Perez in his back.

After being released from the hospital, Garces Perez was sent to an immigration detention facility, with the bullet still lodged in his back.

The Department of Homeland Security later announced it would be leading an investigation into the officer-involved shooting, adding that Garces Perez had a final order of removal for unlawfully entering the country under the Biden administration.

The shooting prompted widespread outrage and protests in Austin, which has a large Hispanic population.

ICE has come under fire following several officer-involved shootings, including the two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota earlier this year. Fatal shootings in Houston and Maine in July involving ICE officers also sparked outrage over President Trump’s immigration crackdown.