New surveillance footage has surfaced, showing a tense scene where federal law enforcement chased a Venezuelan migrant in Austin over the weekend, just moments before he was shot by an immigration officer.
The video captures at least two law enforcement vehicles with sirens on, pursuing a fast-moving car driven by 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that the footage is authentic.
Garces Perez was shot by an officer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was later arrested and placed in detention.
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According to Garces Perez’s attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, officers in an unmarked vehicle attempted to force her client off the road while he was working as a DoorDash driver. She claims that he was chased, sideswiped, shot in the back of the neck, and then pulled from his car.
However, this narrative is challenged by local law enforcement evidence. The surveillance footage reveals no visible damage to Garces Perez’s vehicle. Additionally, bodycam footage from responding Austin police officers depicts them assisting him out of the vehicle, which contradicts Goldfinch’s account of events.
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Lincoln-Goldfinch announced on Facebook that her client is currently isolated in an ICE detention center infirmary and is reported to be “gravely ill,” with a bullet still lodged in his body.
She emphasized that they are demanding immediate action: restoring Garces’s communication rights and ensuring he receives proper medical care.
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The incident has elicited strong backlash from Democratic lawmakers, who have condemned ICE as a “rogue” entity that “terrorizes our cities and jeopardizes the safety of our residents.”
U.S. Representative Greg Casar, a Democrat from Texas, visited the ICE detention center on Wednesday to meet with Garces Perez. He later posted a video criticizing how the agency managed the situation.
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“ICE has been attempting to shift all the blame onto him while withholding any video footage or evidence,” Casar remarked.
