What we know about Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, the Venezuelan shot by an ICE agent, now facing deportation with a bullet still lodged in his body

Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man, was working as a DoorDash delivery driver in North Austin on Sunday, September 20, when he was shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during a traffic stop. He was injured and later taken into immigration custody, with the bullet still lodged in his body.

On Tuesday, September 22, a federal judge granted an emergency order temporarily blocking his deportation after his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, filed a federal lawsuit. In a message posted to her X account, Lincoln-Goldfinch reported the news and said the judge ordered Garcés Pérez to appear at the first hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, September 30.

“We have filed a federal lawsuit, and the judge has ordered that he be present at the first hearing, which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30,” said Goldfinch. “And that means he won’t be deported in the meantime.”

He still has the bullet in his body

Garcés Pérez was initially taken to a hospital after the shooting but was later transferred to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas, about 135 miles from Austin. His attorney said the bullet remained lodged near his spine.

As Common Dreams reported, Garces Perez was transferred from an ICE detention center in Pearsall, Texas, to a hospital late Monday after reporting that he had lost feeling in the left side of his body, likely as a result of the bullet that remained close to his spine.

What happened when he was shot?

According to Garcés Pérez's account, he was making a DoorDash delivery when an unmarked SUV sideswiped his car. He said he initially did not know the people inside were ICE agents and that the vehicle later struck his car again.

Speaking by phone with a translator during a news conference, Garcés Pérez said he made a U-turn and was trying to pull over when the officers shot him. The Texas Tribune reported that he said the agents turned on their lights and sirens only after the vehicles had collided.

Garcés Pérez said he was shot in the back while he remained in his vehicle. The US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, termed him an ‘illegal alien’ and said it is leading an investigation into the shooting with assistance from the FBI. The agency has not provided a detailed public account of the shooting.

Why was he facing deportation?

According to his attorney, Garcés Pérez entered the United States two years ago using the CBP One cellphone application, which the Biden administration created to allow certain immigrants to make appointments with immigration officials at ports of entry.

After being processed by immigration officials, he was allowed to enter the country and later applied for asylum, according to Lincoln-Goldfinch. He subsequently received a work permit. The Texas Tribune reported that his attorney said he had also updated his address with the immigration court after settling in Austin.

However, a notice for his immigration hearing was sent to a previous address, as per New York Times. Garcés Pérez therefore did not know about the hearing and missed it. An immigration judge subsequently issued a deportation order in his absence.