The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has pushed back against various allegations surrounding an ICE shooting incident in Austin, Texas. According to the DHS, claims made by politicians and defense attorneys regarding the medical treatment, immigration status, and valid work authorization of the wounded Venezuelan man are factually incorrect.
Fox News reported on the 24th that the DHS rejected successive criticisms and suspicions raised by Democratic federal lawmakers and defense counsel regarding the shooting of 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez.
Perez was shot by an ICE agent on the 20th in Austin while working as a food delivery driver. He was subsequently discharged from the hospital with a bullet lodged near his spine and transferred to an ICE detention facility. Defense attorneys claimed he suffered inhumane treatment, such as sleeping on the floor without even receiving proper pain medication. Perez was transferred back to the hospital the day after his detention.
As the situation escalated, about 100 lawmakers including Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) sent a letter to the DHS urging Perez’s immediate release and proper medical treatment. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) also criticized ICE for forcing Perez’s transfer to a detention facility even though he showed symptoms of left-side paralysis and still had a bullet next to his spine. Rep. Casar strongly denounced ICE as “masked liars” and demanded their immediate withdrawal from the Austin area.
Amid intensifying controversy, the DHS used its official social media accounts to directly refute the Democratic lawmakers’ claims point by point.
First, regarding the claim that ICE hindered surgery to remove the bullet from Perez’s body, the DHS stated it was “completely untrue,” explaining that medical procedures are a matter for medical professionals to decide and not something ICE interferes with.
The DHS also dismissed claims that pain medication was withheld and that he was left on the floor. The agency explained that Perez is under 24-hour close medical supervision, including pain medication administration, and was provided a regular bed just hours after entering the detention facility.
The two sides are also sharply divided over the suspect’s immigration status and work authorization. Defense attorneys argued that Perez entered legally in 2024 via the mobile app ‘CBP One,’ applied for asylum, and held a valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD). They explained that an in-person immigration court notice was mistakenly sent to a previous address, causing him to miss the hearing and resulting in an unjust in absentia deportation order.
In contrast, the DHS countered that Perez was an illegal entrant from the beginning, held no legal protective status such as valid work authorization or Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and was a legitimate target for enforcement who had already received a final deportation order from an immigration court.
The DHS also drew a line against demands from some politicians for ICE to withdraw from Austin. The agency made it clear that “strictly enforcing immigration laws enacted by Congress is our primary mission” and that it plans to continue immigration enforcement activities in the region without disruption.
However, investigations into the specific circumstances of the shooting at the time of the incident are still ongoing. Perez’s side claims that agents in unmarked vehicles rammed his car without any stop signal or flashing lights. Rep. Casar and others are demanding the immediate release of dashboard and body camera footage from the scene, the preservation of evidence, and the intervention of an objective independent investigative agency.
