DHS refutes claims made about ICE Austin shooting

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(The Center Square) – After a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shooting in Austin on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security is pushing back against claims made about the incident.

Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was shot and injured by an ICE officer during a targeted enforcement action after Perez attempted to flee in his vehicle. 

Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI are investigating the shooting. HSI initially said Perez illegally entered the country under the Biden administration, had a final order of removal and was in stable condition after the shooting. 

At a press conference this week, his immigration attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, had Perez speak through the phone that she held up to the microphone. He said he was shot in the back and discharged from the hospital with the bullet still lodged in his back. Lincoln-Goldfinch later said he was discharged “just hours after being shot, with the bullet still lodged in his body, and transferred into ICE custody while in severe pain.” She also said Perez was “in severe pain, without pain medication, and was taken to an ICE processing center where it was extremely cold and there was no bed.”  

DHS refutes the claim, stating, he “was released from the hospital and arrived at the detention facility just a few hours later, where he slept on a bed. Aliens in ICE custody receive a higher standard of living than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens.”

DHS also said that “ICE does not and would not advise, nor be the authority on, a medical procedure for an illegal alien at a hospital.” It also said he “is receiving medical care around the clock, including pain medication.”

In response to claims that Perez didn’t attempt to flee, the Austin-American Statesman reported that a video of the incident “calls that claim into question.”

Since the shooting, DHS said, “many lies” were being spread “by the mainstream media, far-left activists, and sanctuary politicians.” 

“Sanctuary politicians and the mainstream media have wasted no time in spreading lies about an ICE officer-involved shooting of an illegal alien in Austin, Texas,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “Contrary to their claims, this person is an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here and has been given some of the best medical care he’s ever received in his life. 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. Sanctuary politicians may continue to shamelessly protect illegal aliens, but the Trump Administration will remain focused on protecting the American people.”

Lincoln-Goldfinch said he wasn’t “illegal. He entered legally through a port of entry where he was inspected and admitted,” referring to a Biden administration’s catch and release and CHNV parole policies that facilitated entry to inadmissible foreign nationals. These policies have been terminated by the Trump administration. 

DHS said Perez’s work permit expired in 2025 and “a work permit does NOT grant legal status.” DHS again reiterated that Perez was in the country illegally and his final removal order in absentia was valid because he never showed up to his hearing. “This is why aliens must show up to their removal proceedings. Legal obligations do not end because someone’s address changed,” DHS said.

Lincoln-Goldfinch said he didn’t have a final removal order and his hearing is next week. On Tuesday, she said a federal judge granted her emergency order to stop his deportation. Deportations occur after a final removal order is issued.

By Wednesday afternoon, she said, Perez “remains gravely ill, with the bullet still lodged in his body, and he remains in ICE detention. Our immediate demands are clear: restore Wilber’s communication privileges and take him back to the hospital. He needs access to appropriate medical care.”

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also held a press conference saying, “Austinites have a right to feel safe in their city” and ICE was attempting “to create fear and chaos.” 

In response, DHS said his statements represented “Very selective indignation. If any Austinites feel unsafe in their city, it is because sanctuary politicians have enabled criminal illegal aliens to roam their streets with impunity. Our mission has not changed: we will enforce the laws passed by Congress, and that includes deporting illegal aliens.”

Crime in Austin has increased after the city council voted to defund the Austin Police Department six years ago. Abbott and the legislature immediately responded and enacted laws requiring cities that defund their police to lose state funding. Abbott also surged Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to Austin to perform a range of interdiction efforts.

This year, Austin is again facing funding cuts after Watson issued a directive instructing APD officers not to cooperate with ICE, The Center Square reported. Neither Texas DPS or APD were in the vicinity or involved in the ICE shooting. 

“Resisting officers and evading arrest is dangerous for our officers, illegal aliens, and the public,” DHS said. “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.”