DHS denies role in decision to leave bullet in Garces Perez’s back
The deportation order against Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the 28-year-old Venezuelan delivery driver shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, stemmed from a clerical error in which an immigration court sent a hearing notice to an old address, his attorney said.
“The immigration court sent a notice for a hearing to an old address,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said. “Happens all the time. Not a reason to get shot in the street in the United States of America.”
The Department of Homeland Security disputes Garces Perez’s account of legal status, saying he was in the country illegally and had a deportation order. Lincoln-Goldfinch says Garces Perez entered the country legally and held a valid work permit until an immigration court ordered his deportation in absentia.
U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the Western District of Texas on Tuesday temporarily blocked Garces Perez’s removal and scheduled a Sept. 30 hearing, with Garces Perez ordered to appear in person.
According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garces Perez was wounded on Sunday while making food deliveries for DoorDash. Officers in an unmarked ICE truck sideswiped Garces Perez’s car before shooting him in the back, just below the neck, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
After four hours in an Austin hospital, Garces Perez was transferred early Monday to the South Texas ICE processing center with the bullet still inside him and without pain medication, his attorney said. He was brought back to the hospital later after losing movement in his arm, where he was given morphine and treated for a suspected fractured collarbone, according to Lincoln-Goldfinch. He returned to federal custody Monday night; the bullet had not been extracted as of Tuesday, his attorney said.
A spokesperson for the health network that operates Dell Seton Medical Center, where Garces Perez was treated, said the hospital followed protocol regarding interactions with law enforcement during his care.
The Department of Homeland Security said Garces Perez was the subject of a targeted traffic stop because of his legal status and is receiving round-the-clock medical care, including pain medication. The agency denied any involvement in the decision to leave the bullet in Garces Perez’s back.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Garces Perez is “an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here and has been given some of the best medical care he’s ever received in his life.” Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will examine the shooting, the department said.
The Travis County District Attorney’s office said the shooting may have violated state law and requested access to evidence for local investigators and the Austin Police Department.
Garces Perez’s attorneys are pursuing a U visa — a visa granted to crime victims — so he can remain in the country to assist in the investigation, according to court filings.