ICE Shooting Charges

Venezuelan Asylum Seeker Charged With Assault After ICE Encounter and Shooting in Austin

Federal prosecutors charged 28-year-old Venezuelan Wilber Rafael Garces Perez with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer after an ICE encounter in Austin on Sept. 20; if convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors allege he drove away from a stop, struck an officer with his side-view mirror and later tried to hit an officer with his car, prompting the officer to shoot him; Garces Perez told investigators an ICE SUV hit his car before he was shot. The officer who fired was not wearing a body camera, another agent’s camera was turned off during the pursuit, and released footage does not show the shooting. Garces Perez remains in ICE detention with the bullet reportedly still in his back; his lawyer and supporters say he needs urgent medical care, while DHS says he is receiving adequate care. His lawyer says he entered the United States as an asylum seeker with a valid work permit and missed an immigration hearing because notice went to an old address; DHS says an immigration judge had issued a final removal order.

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