Photo: Alex Smith from Fort Collins, CO, United States | CC0 | Wikimedia Commons
ICE Austin Shooting Dispute Deepens As DHS Rebuts Care Claims And DOJ Files Assault Charge
On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, federal prosecutors charged 28-year-old Venezuelan Wilber Rafael Garces Perez with assaulting a federal officer in connection with an ICE shooting in Austin, Texas.[1]
The government's nine-page affidavit says ICE officers first saw his car outside a restaurant, ran the plate, confirmed a final removal order and that the interaction was initially "pleasant and not aggressive" before he abruptly closed his window and drove off.[2] The affidavit and the complaint say prosecutors allege his driver's-side mirror struck an officer as he fled, and they have charged him with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer.[2]
On Sunday, September 20, 2026, ICE officers shot Garces Perez in Austin during what officials described as a targeted vehicle stop after locating his car by a license-plate check, and Austin police released body-worn camera video of the immediate aftermath showing him hunched over and wounded.[3] Attorneys say he has been hospitalized at least twice, still has a bullet lodged near his spine and needs more medical care while in ICE custody; DHS and ICE have rebutted those claims, saying he has received around-the-clock medical attention and was taken to an ICE facility after hospital release.[4]
Reporting on the case shifted as new footage and accounts surfaced: early agency statements emphasized his immigration status and warned that evading arrest is dangerous, while later video and coverage from outlets including CBS and Fox highlighted contradictions and intensified political pressure. The DOJ complaint, filed Tuesday, can carry a sentence of up to 20 years, deepening legal jeopardy for Garces Perez.[4]
Show source details & analysis (11 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- On Sunday, September 20, 2026, ICE officers shot 28‑year‑old Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez during a targeted vehicle stop in Austin, Texas; authorities say the encounter began after officers located his car via a license‑plate check. Wilber Rafael Garces Perez
- On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, the Department of Justice filed a federal complaint charging Garces Perez with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer — an offense that can carry up to 20 years in prison. Department of Justice
- A nine‑page DHS affidavit and the federal complaint say officers first saw his vehicle outside a restaurant, ran the plate and confirmed a final removal order; the affidavit says the initial interaction was 'pleasant and not aggressive,' then Garces Perez abruptly closed his window and drove off, and his driver's‑side mirror struck an officer, which the government says forms the basis for the assault allegation. nine‑page affidavit
- Austin Police released body‑worn camera video of the immediate aftermath showing Garces Perez hunched over in the driver’s seat with a visible upper‑back wound, officers assisting him out of the car, an officer calling for shears to cut his shirt, and Garces Perez responding 'No' in Spanish when asked if he had any weapons. body‑worn camera video
- Garces Perez’s attorneys and more than 100 members of Congress urged ICE to release him for medical treatment and to preserve his testimony; a federal judge on September 22, 2026 stayed his deportation and U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered him to appear in person at a September 30, 2026 hearing in San Antonio. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia
- Attorneys and filings say Garces Perez has been hospitalized at least twice, still has a bullet lodged near his spine and is in significant pain and needs further medical care while in ICE custody; Rep. Joaquin Castro and other Democrats have said he lost movement on his left side. Kate Lincoln‑Goldfinch
- DHS and ICE publicly rebutted claims that Garces Perez was denied care, saying he entered the U.S. illegally, had a final removal order and an expired work permit, and that he is receiving around‑the‑clock medical care (including pain medication) and was transported to an ICE facility and slept in a bed after hospital release. DHS and ICE
- Reporting and cited training records indicate the ICE officer who fired was a relatively new recruit hired in 2025 with prior U.S. Border Patrol and other law‑enforcement experience, completed ICE’s 256‑hour Deportation Officer Training Program (including high pistol scores and use‑of‑force coursework) and was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting. training records
📰 Source Timeline (11)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
September 30, 2026
3:47 AM
Venezuelan national shot by ICE officer in Austin charged with assaulting federal officer
New information:
- On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, DOJ announced a federal charge accusing Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez of assaulting, resisting, interfering with and impeding a federal officer, carrying up to 20 years in prison.
- The federal complaint says ICE officers first spotted Garces-Perez's vehicle outside a restaurant, ran the plate, confirmed a final order of removal, and then initiated what they describe as a targeted traffic stop.
- According to the complaint, body-camera footage shows Garces-Perez initially cooperating and providing his driver's license, with officers describing the encounter as "pleasant and not aggressive," before he abruptly closed his window and drove off.
- The complaint alleges that as Garces-Perez fled, his driver's-side mirror struck an ICE officer in the torso, forming the basis for the assault allegation.
- The document states that Garces-Perez was read his Miranda rights in Spanish, affirmed he understood them, and agreed to speak with investigators without an attorney, admitting he disregarded commands to exit the vehicle and drove away.
- The complaint notes that one ICE officer turned off his body camera after losing sight of Garces-Perez and the second officer during the pursuit, while the officer who ultimately fired his weapon was not equipped with a body camera.
- The second officer later told his partner that Garces-Perez had attempted to strike him with his vehicle, prompting the officer to fire, and the complaint records that Garces-Perez was shot once in the upper back.
- The article reports that accounts differ over whether there was vehicle contact during the initial stop, with the ICE officer denying contact and Garces-Perez claiming the ICE SUV caused a collision.
September 29, 2026
10:16 PM
Federal prosecutors charge Venezuelan man shot in his car by ICE agent in Texas with assaulting an officer
New information:
- Article confirms that on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, federal prosecutors formally charged Wilber Rafael Garces Perez with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer in connection with the September 20 Austin shooting.
- A nine-page affidavit from a DHS agent is described as the government's fullest public account to date, stating that ICE officers first saw Garces Perez's car parked outside a restaurant with flashers on, ran a database check showing a final removal order, and then initiated a stop.
- The affidavit says Garces Perez cracked his window, handed over his driver’s license, declined to exit while asking officers to wait for his wife to retrieve the car, and that the tone was initially 'pleasant and not aggressive.'
- According to the affidavit, about a minute later Garces Perez 'abruptly' closed the window and drove off, striking one officer in the torso with the driver’s side mirror as the car pulled away; the complaint does not say whether that officer was injured.
- The article reports that the officer who fired the shots was not wearing a body camera, while another officer's body camera captured only the initial interaction and three still images of the officer by the mirror and the vehicle starting to move.
- The affidavit includes Garces Perez’s contrary account that an unmarked law-enforcement SUV struck his car during a brief chase, causing it to spin, after which an agent shot him in the back.
- The story notes that Garces Perez entered the U.S. in 2024 via the CBP One asylum-appointment program (now ended by President Trump), had a valid work permit, and received a final deportation order after missing a hearing when notice went to a former address.
- PBS highlights that ICE reported more than 50,000 monthly arrests in July and August 2026, saying this is the first time the agency has exceeded that mark and situating the shooting in that enforcement surge.
- The piece cites prior cases where people shot by immigration officers were also charged with assault but later had charges dropped, including a Chicago Border Patrol case and a Minneapolis ICE case in which the officer is now charged with lying about being assaulted.
3:44 PM
Feds charge Venezuelan man shot by ICE agent with assaulting an officer
New information:
- On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, federal prosecutors in Texas charged 28-year-old Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez with assaulting a federal officer.
- The criminal complaint alleges Garces Perez struck an ICE officer with his vehicle as he drove away in an attempt to evade arrest during the earlier Austin encounter.
- DHS maintains that Garces Perez is in the U.S. illegally and under a final removal order from an immigration judge.
- The article does not specify the exact date of the vehicle incident itself beyond noting it occurred "earlier this month."
September 24, 2026
6:50 PM
Dems shamed as DHS brings ICE shooting receipts after politician called ICE officers ‘liars with masks’
New information:
- On Sunday, September 20, 2026, ICE says Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, entered the U.S. illegally, has no valid work permit or protective status, and is under a final DOJ removal order.
- On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, more than 100 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter demanding Perez’s release, asserting he was forced out of the hospital, has a bullet lodged near his spine, lost movement on his left side, and is not receiving needed care.
- Rep. Joaquin Castro said Perez lost movement on his left side, has a bullet lodged next to his spine, and was forced from the hospital back to the South Texas ICE Processing Center.
- Rep. Greg Casar called ICE officers “liars with masks” and demanded ICE leave Austin following the shooting.
- In posts on X cited Thursday, September 24, 2026, DHS called “sanctuary politicians and the media” liars, rejected claims that ICE refused bullet removal or denied pain medication, and said Perez is receiving around-the-clock medical care, including pain medication, and slept in a bed within hours of arriving at the detention facility.
- DHS publicly stated that ICE “will not be slowing down nor leaving Austin” and framed its actions as enforcing laws passed by Congress.
- Former acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey, in a Fox News Digital interview, argued that Democratic criticism of ICE operations in incidents like the Austin shooting reflects an intent to prevent ICE from performing its enforcement functions.
September 23, 2026
8:25 PM
Michigan Governor Orders Inquiry After ICE Pursuit Ends in Fatal Crash
New information:
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered the Michigan State Police to conduct an independent review of law enforcement actions surrounding a fatal ICE pursuit in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in which driver Mario David Coronado Juarez died in a crash last weekend.
- Authorities identified the deceased as Mario David Coronado Juarez, an immigrant from Guatemala; officials said he was the only occupant when his car hit a tree and caught fire.
- A Whitmer spokeswoman said the state police review will be conducted in coordination with the Grand Rapids Police Department's investigation.
- Elected officials and immigrant advocates in Michigan have publicly questioned how a routine immigration stop escalated into a deadly crash.
- The article links the Michigan pursuit to a broader pattern of recent ICE encounters ending in injury or death, including the Austin, Texas shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez and the mistaken detention and injury of a U.S. citizen in Evanston, Illinois, last weekend.
6:09 AM
Judge sets hearing for Venezuelan man shot by ICE, and police in Texas release video
New information:
- On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered Wilber Rafael Garces Perez to appear in person at a hearing on September 30, 2026, in San Antonio on his lawsuit seeking to halt removal.
- Garces Perez’s attorneys alleged in new federal court filings that he was forced to sleep on a cement floor at an ICE temporary processing center before transfer to the Pearsall, Texas detention facility and that he was questioned without an attorney present.
- The article reports Garces Perez was treated and released from a hospital for a second time and then returned to ICE detention on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, with a bullet still lodged in his back.
- Austin police on Tuesday released additional bodycam footage showing Garces Perez hunched over in the driver’s seat grabbing his shoulder, with a visible upper-back wound after officers cut off his shirt.
- Rep. Joaquin Castro said he plans to visit Garces Perez on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, to check on his condition and demand his release, while DHS publicly defended ICE’s medical care and vowed it would not slow operations or leave Austin.
- Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said an off-duty APD detective witnessed black SUVs surrounding a dark blue Toyota Corolla, recorded three gunshots and sirens 10–15 minutes later, and that there was a vehicle pursuit through side neighborhoods ending about 200 yards from where Garces Perez was shot.
- Davis said APD did not know whether the ICE officer who fired was wearing a body camera, and DHS did not answer questions about the shooter’s bodycam use; ICE has previously said all field officers will have body-worn cameras by the end of September 2026.
- The article clarifies that the Austin bodycam videos released do not show what led up to the shooting itself, only the immediate aftermath.
September 22, 2026
11:01 PM
Judge blocks deportation of immigrant shot by ICE in Texas, attorney says
New information:
- On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, an immigration judge blocked the deportation of Wilber Garcés Pérez, the Venezuelan immigrant shot and wounded by ICE in Austin, Texas, his attorney told CBS News.
- The ruling specifically halts ICE from deporting Garcés Pérez while his case proceeds, adding a fresh judicial layer to an incident already under scrutiny for use-of-force and procedural issues.
- CBS identifies Garcés Pérez as wounded by ICE in Austin and still facing deportation pressure before the judge's order.
10:42 PM
Bodycam footage captures moments after ICE shooting of Venezuelan migrant in Austin
New information:
- On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, the Austin Police Department released three short body-worn camera videos showing the local police response just after ICE officers shot 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in Austin.
- One APD bodycam clip captures what sounds like three gunshots as officers arrive at the scene on Sunday, September 20, 2026.
- Footage shows Garces Perez sitting hunched over in the driver's seat, clutching his left shoulder, and officers assisting him out of the vehicle before placing him under arrest, contradicting prior claims that ICE agents pulled him out.
- An officer on the video calls for shears to cut open Garces Perez's shirt to inspect his wounds and notes that he appears to have one gunshot wound.
- In Spanish, an officer asks Garces Perez if he has any weapons ("¿Tiene armas?"), and Garces Perez responds "No."
- ICE reiterated that Garces Perez had a final order of removal, said his work permit expired in 2025, and stated that he was released from the hospital and transported to an ICE detention facility within hours, where he slept in a bed.
- ICE again described the encounter as a "targeted vehicle stop" tied to his immigration status and warned that resisting officers and evading arrest is a felony and a federal crime.
10:31 PM
Immigrant’s shooting in Texas again raises questions over ICE tactics
New information:
- The Christian Science Monitor reports that in July 2026, after ICE officers fatally shot immigrant drivers in Houston and in Maine, the Department of Homeland Security internally planned to pause vehicle stops of immigrants, but President Donald Trump urged that such stops continue.
- The article says immigrant arrests reached nearly 50,000 in July 2026, described as a record for Trump's second term based on an analysis of federal data.
- DHS confirmed in a Tuesday, September 22, 2026 statement that Wilber Rafael Garces Perez 'was the subject of a targeted vehicle stop' and said evading arrest is dangerous, but provided no further details about the shooting.
- The piece notes that after the July fatal shootings, DHS announced that each ICE arrest team would be required to have at least one body camera, but the government has not publicly confirmed whether body-camera footage exists for the Austin shooting.
- The Monitor cites reporting that the ICE officer who fired in Austin had prior law-enforcement experience, was hired by ICE in 2025, and was not wearing a body camera during the stop.
- According to a New York Times visual and audio analysis summarized in the article, an officer exited an unmarked SUV and fired at Garces Perez's car from the side, through the rear passenger window, after the immigrant's sedan had been sideswiped.
- The article states that officers reportedly located Garces Perez, a food-delivery driver, via a license-plate database search that also revealed an existing deportation order.
- Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch says Garces Perez has been hospitalized at least twice since being shot in the back and remains in ICE detention, while a federal judge has stayed his deportation and scheduled a hearing for next week.
- DHS and Garces Perez's attorney agree he entered the U.S. during the Biden administration but dispute whether he crossed illegally or lawfully after presenting himself; the article notes this factual disagreement without resolution.
7:36 PM
Federal judge temporarily blocks deportation of illegal immigrant shot by ICE agent in Austin, attorney says
New information:
- Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said a federal judge ordered that Wilber Rafael Garces Perez be present for a September 30, 2026 hearing, which blocks his deportation until at least that date.
- Lincoln-Goldfinch said on September 22, 2026 that the bullet remains lodged in Garces Perez’s body and that he is in significant pain but still needs further medical care while in ICE custody.
- Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza sent a September 22, 2026 letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Director David Venturella asking that Garces Perez be allowed to remain in the United States while the shooting is investigated.
- Rep. Greg Casar and more than 100 other members of Congress signed a letter to Mullin and Venturella urging ICE to release Garces Perez from detention so he can obtain medical treatment and serve as a key witness.
- Fox News reported that the ICE officer who shot Garces Perez is a relatively new ICE recruit with prior U.S. Border Patrol and other law‑enforcement experience and that he was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting, despite DHS plans to equip all officers with cameras by the end of September 2026.
- Training records cited in the article say the officer completed ICE’s 256‑hour Deportation Officer Training Program in August 2025, scored 99.2% on his pistol qualification, and received coursework on use‑of‑force scenarios before taking the field.
- The article reiterates that Garces Perez is a Venezuelan citizen with a final removal order who was working as a DoorDash delivery driver and describes his attorney’s account that agents chased, sideswiped his vehicle, then shot him in the back of the neck before pulling him from the car.