Texas Democrats Demand Release of 28-Year-Old DoorDash Driver as ICE Withholds Austin Shooting Video
Updated
Updated · WOAI · Sep 22
Texas Democrats Demand Release of 28-Year-Old DoorDash Driver as ICE Withholds Austin Shooting Video
3 articles · Updated · WOAI · Sep 22
Summary
Texas Democrats and immigrant advocates demanded Wilber Rafael Garces Perez’s release and immediate publication of bodycam footage after an ICE officer shot the 28-year-old Austin DoorDash driver during a Sunday operation.
Garces Perez was taken from a hospital to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall within hours of the shooting, lawmakers said, even though the bullet remains lodged in his back and he is being sent back to the hospital.
Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said the Venezuelan asylum seeker entered lawfully through the CBP One app but was later ordered deported in absentia after an immigration court changed his hearing date without notifying him.
Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar called the shooting and transfer abusive ICE overreach, saying Garces Perez appears to have no criminal record despite promises to target criminals.
The case is widening pressure on ICE operations in Texas, with Democratic lawmakers planning a hospital visit and still awaiting responses from Republican leaders and Governor Greg Abbott’s office.