Venezuelan Shot by ICE in Texas to Remain Detained, Federal Judge Rules
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
A Venezuelan delivery driver shot by an immigration agent while inside his car in Texas will remain in custody on charges of assaulting an officer while attempting to evade arrest, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday. Judge Dustin Howell indicated that the case against 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez would proceed after prosecutors presented body camera footage of the interaction in which Garcés allegedly struck an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent with the driver's side mirror during the encounter in Austin. Garcés is charged with assaulting, resisting, and obstructing a federal officer and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His case has sparked widespread outrage across the Texas capital and reignited Democratic criticism of President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement. With a bullet still lodged in his back, Garcés appeared in court in a wheelchair, and his attorneys noted he still requires urgent medical attention ten days after being shot. He also wore a sling on his arm and needed assistance to put on headphones to listen to a translation of the proceedings. The defense argued that the footage from the encounter was inconclusive, as it did not fully capture the moment Garcés attempted to flee. They also indicated that the federal official investigating the arrest could not confirm whether the ICE agent was actually struck by the car mirror, as he did not directly interview the officer, who was not wearing a body camera, according to reports. The footage presented in court showed agents stopping Garcés on September 20 in Austin, where he was making deliveries for DoorDash. The video shows Garcés handing his driver's license through a window and then asking in Spanish if he could park his car for a family member to pick him up. The agent repeatedly asks Garcés to exit the vehicle, to which he asks if he can park so a family member can come get him. After an exchange of words, Garcés abruptly drives away at high speed. Prosecutors showed video from a nearby business of the high-speed chase that followed through residential streets. However, the shooting itself was not captured in the footage shared in court. The federal agent who shot Garcés was not wearing a body camera. The immigration agent who did have a camera was driving in a separate vehicle and turned off the camera during the chase. Garcés claimed he was struck by an SUV from the agents and spun around before being shot. However, federal officials told investigators that Garcés attempted to ram an agent with his vehicle at the end of the chase before the agent—whose name has not been released—fired his weapon. The allegations against Garcés echo previous claims made by immigration agents following other high-profile shootings, in which drivers were similarly accused of turning their vehicles into weapons. In a handful of cases, the allegations have been weakened or retracted following the release of body camera footage, leading to renewed scrutiny over the Department of Homeland Security's reliance on vehicle stops to carry out arrests. Garcés entered the United States in 2024 using CBP One, a program initiated under President Joe Biden that allowed migrants to request appointments with U.S. authorities to consider their asylum applications. President Donald Trump ended the program on his first day back in office. Garcés was an asylum seeker and had a valid work permit, according to his attorney. She indicated that a judge issued a deportation order after the Venezuelan missed an immigration court hearing because the notice was sent to an old address. His attorneys have filed a lawsuit to prevent his removal from the United States.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
