'Illegally entered': ICE agent shoots Venezuelan man in Texas- watch

A Venezuelan national shot and wounded by a US immigration agent in Texas was transferred to an ICE detention centre with the bullet still lodged in his body, his lawyer said Monday.Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, said he was delivering a DoorDash order in Austin on Sunday when an ICE agent allegedly rammed his vehicle and shot him."I'm in a lot of pain because the shot fractured my clavicle and at the hospital where they took me they couldn't remove the bullet because it's close to the spinal cord...I'm not doing very well, I still have the bullet inside," Perez told reporters by phone.The shooting is the latest instance of violence involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents enforcing President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, AFP reported.Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on X that Perez had "illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal". His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, disputed that account, saying Perez was in the US legally with a work permit.Lincoln-Goldfinch said Perez was transferred from a hospital to an ICE detention centre in Pearsall, about 135 miles (215 km) southwest of Austin."He was shot here in his back, and they didn't take the bullet out, and they didn't give him pain medication, and they transferred him to ICE, to a processing center where he spent the night without a bed," she said.Perez disputes account of shootingPerez said a truck pulled up alongside his vehicle while he was on his way to deliver the order and tried to hit him without using lights or sirens.He said a black pickup then cut him off and an agent got out and demanded his documents. Perez said he asked to pull over from the middle of the road but the agents refused."I made a U-turn and that's when he started chasing me, thinking I was going to run away, but I was looking for a place to leave my car safely," he said."That's when he hit me twice and shot me."Perez said he did not know how many shots were fired.After the shooting, an ambulance took him to hospital, where he said doctors initially ran tests in preparation for surgery to remove the bullet. He alleged that the procedure was later halted because agents were in a hurry to discharge him and transfer him to detention.Lincoln-Goldfinch alleged that there was "absolutely zero justification" for the shooting and called for an end to ICE traffic stops.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.