Venezuelan man shot by ICE officer in Texas is charged with assault

What Happened

On September 20, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers stopped Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, a Venezuelan asylum seeker, while he was making a DoorDash delivery near a shopping centre in Austin, Texas. A federal complaint says officers ran a database check after noticing his car’s emergency lights flashing and found he was subject to a final order of removal. The complaint describes the initial exchange as 'pleasant and not aggressive'; Garces Perez handed over his driver’s license through a partially opened window and asked to wait for his wife. According to the complaint, he then 'abruptly' closed his window and drove off, striking an officer in the torso with his driver’s side mirror. The officer, who pursued him, alleges Garces Perez tried to drive into him, prompting him to open fire. Garces Perez appeared in federal court in Austin on Tuesday, charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer, which carries up to 20 years in prison. He gave a different account to federal investigators: he said after a brief chase, a law enforcement SUV struck his car and caused it to spin, and the officer then shot him in the back. No publicly available footage shows the events, and the complaint relies on unreleased body-camera footage from one of the two ICE officers; the second officer was not wearing a body camera. Garces Perez's lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said the bullet remains lodged in his body and he has a fractured clavicle.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The case is unfolding amid a surge in U.S. immigration enforcement during Trump’s second term, with ICE reporting more than 50,000 arrests in both July and August. It highlights contested use-of-force accounts in immigration stops, gaps in body-camera coverage, and the legal vulnerability of Venezuelan asylum seekers who entered through CBP One under the Biden administration and now face removal. The incident also ties to the broader Venezuelan displacement crisis, which has driven millions abroad.

Watch For

Garces Perez is due before a federal immigration judge on Wednesday for a separate hearing on whether he can remain in the country. His legal team is seeking to stop his removal, and supporters have warned of sepsis or permanent damage if the lodged bullet is not surgically removed. Potential release of the unreleased body-camera footage, the outcome of the assault prosecution, and any DHS response to medical care claims are key next developments.