On a Sunday afternoon in Texas, a Venezuelan delivery driver's ordinary workday became a collision with the machinery of immigration enforcement — ending with a bullet lodged in his spine and a nation forced to reckon, once again, with the human cost of policy carried out at speed. A federal judge has temporarily halted his deportation, granting a brief pause in a case that pits competing accounts of duty, dignity, and due process against one another. The September 30 hearing will not resolve the larger tensions, but it will determine whether one wounded man is heard before he is removed.
Judge blocks deportation of Venezuelan DoorDash driver shot by ICE agents
A Venezuelan man was shot by ICE agents, sustaining a fractured clavicle and a bullet lodged in his back, and was transferred to detention despite serious injuries requiring hospitalization.
A bullet in his back, still detained, still fighting to stay
Mark
So a man was shot by ICE agents during what sounds like a routine traffic stop. What exactly triggered the shooting?
Mimi
His lawyer says he didn't know the unmarked truck was ICE. When it hit his car, he made a U-turn to get away. The truck hit him again, and then agents shot him. But we only have her account of those moments—the police footage doesn't show the actual shooting.
Luke
Right. And that's important. We hear gunshots on the audio, we see him detained afterward with a wound in his back, but the sequence of events leading to the shooting—whether he was armed, whether he was told to stop, what the agents said—that's not on the video.
Mark
The government says he's an illegal alien with an expired work permit. Does that matter legally to whether he can be deported?
Mimi
It's the basis for DHS wanting to remove him. But his lawyer argues that being shot and injured while in custody raises separate questions about his rights and his medical care. The judge agreed enough to halt deportation temporarily.
Luke
Though we should note: DHS says he's received excellent medical care, and his lawyer says he's been isolated, shackled during transfers, and moved to a room with a non-adjustable bed. Both sides are making claims we can't independently verify from the reporting.
Mark
What happens on September 30?
Mimi
The judge will hear arguments in person. His lawyer will likely argue for his release or at least for better conditions and medical care. DHS will defend its actions and push for deportation.
Luke
And the outcome could set a precedent for how ICE handles injured detainees. That's why local officials and protesters are watching closely.
Mark
Is there any chance he stays in the country?
Mimi
That depends on what the judge decides. His lawyer is fighting on multiple fronts—the shooting itself, the medical care, the detention conditions. But DHS has made clear it sees him as someone who should be removed.
Luke
The core tension is this: even if you accept DHS's characterization of him as deportable, the question of how he was treated after being shot—that's separate. And that's what the court will have to weigh.
Il Polso
- A 28-year-old Venezuelan man making food deliveries was shot in the back by ICE agents after a vehicle pursuit he did not initially understand was a law enforcement stop.
- Despite a fractured clavicle and a bullet still lodged near his spine, he was transferred from a hospital to an immigration detention facility within hours of receiving treatment.
- His attorney and DHS are offering sharply contradictory accounts of his treatment in detention — one describing shackles, isolation, and withheld pain medication, the other insisting he received round-the-clock medical care.
- A federal judge stepped in Tuesday to temporarily block his deportation, requiring him to appear in court in person on September 30 before any removal can proceed.
- The shooting has ignited street protests, calls from elected officials for his release, and demands for an independent investigation — arriving against a backdrop of a prior fatal ICE shooting in Houston months earlier.
On a Sunday afternoon in Texas, a Venezuelan delivery driver's ordinary workday became a collision with the machinery of immigration enforcement — ending with a bullet lodged in his spine and a nation forced to reckon, once again, with the human cost of policy carried out at speed. A federal judge has temporarily halted his deportation, granting a brief pause in a case that pits competing accounts of duty, dignity, and due process against one another. The September 30 hearing will not resolve the larger tensions, but it will determine whether one wounded man is heard before he is removed.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was delivering food for DoorDash on a Sunday afternoon in Texas when an unmarked black truck sideswiped his car. Not knowing it was an ICE vehicle, he turned to flee — and was hit again. Agents then opened fire. A bullet entered his back, fracturing his clavicle. Within hours of hospital treatment, he was transferred to an immigration detention facility, where he remains with the bullet still lodged near his spine.
On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily halted plans to deport him. Judge Orlando Garcia ordered that Garces Perez appear in court in person on September 30. His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, announced the reprieve while cautioning that the fight is far from over: Garces Perez still needs proper medical care, and his rights remain contested ground.
The Department of Homeland Security offered a starkly different framing. Secretary Markwayne Mullin dismissed the public narrative as false, described Garces Perez as an illegal alien whose work permit had expired, and insisted he received excellent medical care in detention. Mullin made clear the agency would not slow its operations in Austin regardless of public pressure.
Lincoln-Goldfinch's account of detention conditions is sharply at odds with DHS. She describes her client being handcuffed, shackled, and moved roughly upon returning from a follow-up hospital visit — then stripped of communication privileges and moved to an isolated room with a non-adjustable bed. The full extent of any permanent injury to his arm has not yet been determined.
The shooting has drawn protests, legislative calls for his release, and demands for an independent investigation — unfolding in a city already on edge after a fatal ICE shooting in Houston earlier this year. For now, the deportation block holds, and a judge will hear arguments in ten days.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was making a delivery for DoorDash on a Sunday afternoon in Texas when an unmarked black truck sideswiped his car. The 28-year-old Venezuelan did not know the vehicle belonged to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When he made a U-turn to get away, the truck hit him again. Then agents emerged and opened fire. A bullet entered his back, fracturing his clavicle. Within hours of being treated at a hospital, he was transferred to an immigration detention facility, where he remains—still carrying the bullet lodged in his spine.
On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily halted plans to deport him. Judge Orlando Garcia, appointed during the Clinton administration, ordered that Garces Perez appear in court in person on September 30. His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, filed for a temporary restraining order and announced the reprieve on social media: "For now, we have secured a temporary block on his deportation while his case moves forward." But she was careful to note the work ahead. "Wilber still needs appropriate medical care, and we will continue fighting to protect his rights."
The Department of Homeland Security responded swiftly with a statement that reframed the entire incident. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin called the narrative surrounding the shooting "false" and blamed sanctuary cities and media outlets for spreading what he termed lies. He described Garces Perez as "an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here," noting that his work permit had expired the previous year. The agency said he had been "given some of the best medical care he's ever received in his life." Mullin concluded: "No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job by removing dangerous illegal aliens from our communities and making America safe again."
Lincoln-Goldfinch's account of what happened after the shooting differs sharply. She says that when Garces Perez could not move his arm while detained, he was taken back to the hospital on Monday evening. Upon his return to the detention facility, he was handcuffed, shackled at the ankles, placed in a waist chain, and moved roughly despite his injury. Detention personnel then revoked his communication privileges and transferred him from an infirmary to an isolated room with a flat, non-adjustable bed. The gunshot fractured his clavicle, and he is wearing a sling while experiencing significant swelling and pain. The full extent of any permanent loss of movement has not yet been determined.
DHS denied these claims in its Tuesday statement. The agency said Garces Perez received medical care "around the clock" and disputed allegations that he received no pain medication or was forced to sleep on the floor. "This alien was released from the hospital and arrived at the detention facility just a few hours later, where he slept on a bed," DHS said. The Austin Police Department, which was not involved in the shooting, released dashcam and body camera footage showing officers at the scene. The footage does not capture the moment of the shooting itself, but gunshots are audible in one clip. Another shows officers detaining Garces Perez and cutting away his shirt to reveal what appears to be a single gunshot wound in his back.
The incident arrives in a context of escalating tension. Months earlier, an ICE officer fatally shot a man in Houston. On Sunday, hours after Garces Perez was shot, dozens of protesters gathered at the scene waving Mexican and Guatemalan flags and demanding that ICE leave the city. Texas Democrat Joaquin Castro called for the Venezuelan national's immediate release from detention. Local and state officials have pushed for an independent investigation into the shooting.
DHS made clear it has no intention of backing down. In its statement, the agency said ICE "will not be slowing down nor leaving Austin." The U.S. Attorney's Office in Texas declined to comment on the case. For now, the temporary block on deportation holds until the September 30 hearing, when a judge will hear arguments in person and decide what comes next.
Citazioni salienti
For now, we have secured a temporary block on his deportation while his case moves forward. Wilber still needs appropriate medical care, and we will continue fighting to protect his rights.— Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garces Perez's immigration lawyer
No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job by removing dangerous illegal aliens from our communities and making America safe again.— DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin
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Crime & Justice