US judge orders shot Venezuelan detainee to appear in Texas court

A US judge has ordered wounded Venezuelan detainee Wilber Garces Perez to appear in a Texas court next week. The case has fuelled protests and scrutiny over the shooting, detention and his medical care.

In Short

• Lawyers say a bullet remains lodged in Garces Perez's back
• Austin police footage shows him wounded inside his car after shooting
• Democrats and protesters have intensified criticism of immigration enforcement in Austin

A US judge has ordered a Venezuelan man who was shot by a federal immigration officer in Texas to appear in court next week, as his lawyers try to stop his removal from the country and raise concerns over his medical care. His attorney says Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, is still in pain because a bullet remains lodged in his back.

Garces Perez was back at a federal detention centre on Tuesday after being treated and released from hospital for a second time since Sunday’s shooting. The case has triggered protests in Austin and sharp criticism from Democrats, while the Department of Homeland Security has defended both his treatment and its immigration operations.

Austin police on Tuesday released body camera footage that shows Garces Perez hunched over in the front seat of his car after the shooting, holding his shoulder and rocking back and forth. An officer later cuts off his shirt, and a wound is visible on his upper back.

Democratic US Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas said he planned to visit Garces Perez on Wednesday to ‘check on his condition and demand his release’.

The Department of Homeland Security said ICE would not slow down or leave Austin. Castro has joined other Democrats in criticising the shooting, which came amid increased enforcement during President Donald Trump’s second term.

The incident has also led to protests in Austin, including a gathering outside the Texas Capitol on Monday night.

According to Garces Perez’s attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, he was making a DoorDash delivery on Sunday afternoon when ICE officers in an unmarked truck sideswiped his car twice. She said he was then shot, taken to hospital and later released into ICE custody with the bullet still in his back.

US District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered Garces Perez to appear in person at a hearing on September 30 in San Antonio after his attorney filed a lawsuit seeking to halt attempts to remove him from the United States. In the order, Garcia wrote that ‘petitioner must be present at the hearing’.

In court filings, Garces Perez’s lawyers said he was made to sleep on a cement floor at an ICE temporary processing centre before being moved to a detention centre in Pearsall. They also alleged that he was questioned without a lawyer present.

Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garces Perez entered the United States in 2024 through CBP One, a programme started under President Joe Biden that allowed migrants to book appointments with US authorities to be considered for asylum. President Trump ended the programme on his first day in office.

She said Garces Perez was an asylum seeker with a valid work permit. According to her, a judge later issued a deportation order after he missed an immigration court hearing because the notice had been sent to a previous address.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said on Tuesday that an off-duty detective reported the incident after seeing and recording black SUVs surrounding a dark blue Toyota Corolla. Davis said that 10 to 15 minutes later, the detective recorded another video in which three gunshots and sirens could be heard.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately answer questions on Tuesday about whether the federal officer who shot Garces Perez was wearing a body-worn camera. Davis said she did not know whether federal officers at the scene had body cameras. ICE has said its field officers nationwide will have body-worn cameras by the end of September.

Davis said there was a pursuit through side neighbourhoods that ended on a side street about 200 yards from where Garces Perez was eventually shot. The body camera videos released by Austin police do not show what happened before the shooting. The footage begins with an officer walking up to his car after the shooting and speaking to federal officers there.

The videos are partly muted, and Garces Perez can be heard speaking in Spanish to officers. State troopers are also at the scene. In the footage, an officer asks one of the federal officers if Garces Perez is under arrest and is told yes.

On Monday, Garces Perez called into a news conference and told reporters he had received no pain medication and had slept on the floor. DHS said in a statement on Tuesday that he was receiving medical care ‘around the clock, including pain medication’ and had slept on a bed.

The case now centres on both Garces Perez’s upcoming court appearance and the questions raised over the circumstances of the shooting, his detention and the medical care he received afterwards.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends