Immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch speaks during a press conference aired by KVUE, Austin’s ABC affiliate, as her client, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, participates by phone from federal immigration detention. At times, Garces Perez’s voice was hard to hear because the call was low. KVUE video.
By Texas Border Business
AUSTIN, Texas — Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the 28-year-old Venezuelan man shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, remains in federal custody with a bullet still lodged in his body, according to Garces Perez, his attorney.
KVUE, the ABC Austin, Texas affiliate, broadcast the press conference. On video, Garces Perez spoke by telephone Monday during a news conference organized by his attorneys and immigration advocates. As said by Garces Perez during the call, doctors did not remove the bullet because it is lodged near his spine.
According to attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garces Perez was released from a hospital and transferred into ICE custody with the bullet still inside him. He is being held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, about 130 miles southwest of Austin.
Garces Perez also said during the news conference that he remained in significant pain and had not received the medical attention he believed he required. The Associated Press reported that he said he initially received no pain medication or treatment at the detention facility and slept on the floor before eventually receiving medication from a nurse Monday.
ABC News also reported that Garces Perez was making a DoorDash delivery when the encounter with ICE occurred. According to ABC News, both his attorney and DoorDash confirmed that he was working as a delivery driver at the time.
As Garces Perez said at Monday’s news conference, ICE officers did not initially order him to stop or activate emergency lights or sirens. ABC News also reported that Garces Perez said an unmarked vehicle sideswiped his car and that he attempted to find a place to park before his vehicle was struck again and he was shot. His statements are his account and have not been independently verified as the full circumstances surrounding the shooting.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Garces Perez had a final order of removal and was the subject of an immigration enforcement operation. DHS has said he entered the United States illegally.
The Texas Tribune also reported that Garces Perez’s attorneys offered a different account of his immigration history. According to his attorneys, he entered the United States in 2024 after using the CBP One application to schedule an appointment with immigration authorities. He was admitted to the country, applied for asylum, and later received authorization to work. His attorneys said an immigration court issued a removal order after he missed a hearing because the notice was sent to a previous address.
The accounts provided by DHS and Garces Perez’s attorneys therefore differ regarding his immigration history.
According to DHS, Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the FBI, is investigating the officer-involved shooting. The Associated Press also reported that Austin police and the Texas Rangers planned to investigate the incident.
DHS issued an initial statement on social media following the shooting but, as of Monday, had not publicly responded to Garces Perez’s account that a bullet remained lodged near his spine or to his allegations concerning medical care while in federal custody.
Garces Perez remains in federal immigration custody. As said by Garces Perez during Monday’s telephone appearance, the bullet fired during the encounter remains inside his body near his spine.
