Austin police released body-camera footage Tuesday from the scene of Sunday's ICE shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man ICE says was evading arrest during a “targeted vehicle stop” — video that lands amid a fast-escalating political fight over the incident.
Why it matters: The shooting has become a flashpoint over ICE's enforcement tactics under the Trump administration, drawing a Democratic congressman's call for an independent investigation and a swift backlash from Republicans who say local Democrats rushed to judgment before the facts were in.
Driving the news:
ICE agents shot Garces Perez around 12:56 p.m. Sunday in North Austin during what the agency called a “targeted vehicle stop”; his attorney says an unmarked truck sideswiped his vehicle before the shooting, and he was delivering a DoorDash order at the time, per Fox News.
Austin police released three body-camera clips Tuesday, per Fox News: one capturing the sound of gunshots, another showing an arriving officer finding Garces Perez in the driver's seat holding his shoulder in apparent pain, and a third showing officers helping him from the vehicle and asking in Spanish whether he had a weapon — he said no.
DHS says Garces Perez is a Venezuelan national who “illegally entered the country under the Biden administration” and has a final removal order; ICE says he “resist[ed] officers and evad[ed] arrest.”
His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, disputes that account and says his removal order was mailed to an outdated address even though he had updated it with the court.
By the numbers:
28 — Garces Perez's age.
3 — body-camera videos Austin police released Tuesday.
1 — federal judge's order temporarily blocking his deportation while the case proceeds.
What they're saying: Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) said at a news conference, per Fox News: “Over and over, ICE has shot people and then lied about what happened. We will demand truth, transparency and accountability,” adding, “They've arrested 5-year-olds … and now someone has been shot. This has got to stop.” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said he was “very angry” and “extremely unhappy,” accusing ICE of creating “fear and chaos,” while Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said “the city of Austin deserves answers.”
The other side: DHS said Garces Perez's “condition is stable, and he is in federal custody pending removal.” Texas state Rep. Andy Hopper (R) called the swift Democratic response “disqualifying for any elected official,” writing that “you cannot faithfully take the oath of office and be for open borders,” per Fox News. Dennis Farris, president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association, said Mayor Watson's fast, “visceral” reaction “made it worse,” and Austin attorney Adam Loewy called it “shocking” that Watson weighed in before the investigation had barely begun.
What's next:
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Garces Perez's deportation while his immigration case proceeds.
DHS says federal agencies are leading the investigation into the shooting itself; no timeline for its conclusion has been announced.
The bottom line: The newly released video hasn't resolved the central dispute over what happened in the moments before the shots were fired — but it has sharpened an already bitter fight in Austin over ICE tactics, with Garces Perez's fate now tied up in both a federal immigration case and a widening local political battle.
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