Venezuelan Asylum Seeker Faces Federal Assault Charges After Being Shot by ICE Officer in Texas

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker, appeared in federal court in Austin to face charges of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer. The charges stem from a September 20 encounter in Austin, Texas, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot him in the back following a traffic stop while he was making a DoorDash food delivery near a shopping centre.

According to federal court documents, immigration officers noticed flashing emergency lights on a car registered to Garces Perez, who was subject to a final order of removal from the US. During the stop, Garces Perez handed over his driver's license through a partially opened window but did not exit the vehicle, asking officers to wait for his wife to arrive. Investigators stated that after a pleasant initial exchange, Garces Perez abruptly closed his window and drove away, striking an officer in the torso with his side-view mirror.

Following a brief pursuit, the officer caught up with Garces Perez and opened fire after alleging that the driver attempted to drive into him. While no publicly available footage captures the shooting, the federal complaint relies on unreleased body-camera footage from one of the two ICE officers involved. Garces Perez provided a contrasting account to investigators, stating that a law enforcement SUV struck his car and caused it to spin before an officer shot him in the back.

Garces Perez has been held in a detention facility in south Texas since the incident. His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, noted that he suffers from a fractured clavicle with the bullet still lodged in his body, prompting concerns from supporters over potential sepsis or permanent damage without surgery. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security maintains that he is receiving adequate medical care.

Garces Perez entered the US in 2024 through the CBP One programme, legally seeking asylum and holding a valid work permit. His legal team is simultaneously fighting his removal order, which was issued after he reportedly missed a hearing due to a notice sent to an old address. The case unfolds against the backdrop of intensified immigration enforcement under the administration, as ICE reports tens of thousands of arrests.