Austin Protests ICE Shooting of Venezuelan National
AUSTIN, Texas — Just over 100 demonstrators gathered at the site of last Sunday’s shooting involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, which involved a 28-year-old Venezuelan man. The agency claims he was in the U.S. illegally and had a final order for removal. Organized by the Austin Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), the protest featured multiple speakers who led the crowd in chants against ICE.
Breitbart Texas covered the event as speakers took to the back of a pickup truck to address attendees late Sunday afternoon, while passing cars honked in support. This protest follows one that occurred in San Antonio just a few days prior.
During the protest, speakers accused Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez of being shot in the back by ICE while he was working as a DoorDash delivery driver. According to a report by Breitbart Texas’s Bob Price, officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintain that Garces-Perez entered the U.S. unlawfully during what has been described as the Biden Border Crisis.
DHS reported that Garces-Perez was shot by an ICE officer in Austin on September 20 after attempting to evade an officer during a law enforcement operation near the 7000 block of West Anderson Lane. Following emergency medical treatment, he was taken to an ICE detention facility in Pearsall, Texas.
Shortly after the incident, DHS issued a statement addressing misinformation that had spread in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The statement included a warning that read:
Resisting officers and evading arrest is dangerous for our officers, illegal aliens, and the public. We remind the public that resisting officers and evading arrest is a felony and a federal crime. Sanctuary politicians need to stop encouraging this dangerous behavior that puts our officers and the public at risk.
One protester criticized the Austin Police Department, alleging their involvement in last week’s event. The speaker claimed that local police were actively engaged in the operation, stating:
There is no denying the collaboration between APD and ICE, as it was APD that handcuffed Wilber and carried him away. There is no such thing as an impartial investigation by APD. We see with our own eyes. They are just as complicit in this violence and terror.
The demonstrators gathered mere feet from the site of the shooting, holding signs with some messages that were quite aggressive and direct towards ICE agents and the Border Patrol. One activist, wearing ballistic plates under a tank top, held a sign that read “SHOOT ICE BACK! CHINGA LA MIGRA.”
Graffiti remnants on nearby overpass pillars included threats against President Donald Trump and ICE agents. Additionally, a makeshift tribute had been created at the foot of a support pillar, displaying messages in support of Garces-Perez and calls for ICE to leave Texas. Candles and flowers adorned a small table set up at the location.
