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Federal judge temporarily blocks deportation of illegal immigrant shot by ICE agent in Austin, attorney says

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Casiano, L. (2026, September 22). Federal judge temporarily blocks deportation of illegal immigrant shot by ICE agent in Austin, attorney says. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/us/federal-judge-temporarily-blocks-deportation-illegal-immigrant-shot-ice-agent-austin-attorney-says

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-22 · by Louis Casiano

Quick Summary

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, an illegal immigrant who was shot by ICE agents in Austin over the weekend. Represented by Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Perez is a 28-year-old Venezuelan citizen still requiring medical care after being hit with a bullet in his neck during a vehicle pursuit. The judge ordered that Perez cannot be deported until September 30 while his case moves forward. Travis County DA Jose Garza and over 100 members of Congress have called for an investigation into the shooting, demanding Perez's release from ICE detention to receive medical treatment.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 20, 2026, an ICE officer shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan man, during an immigration enforcement operation in Austin, Texas. The shooting occurred near the intersection of Research Boulevard and Anderson Square, where a blue Toyota Corolla was found with bullet holes and damage to its passenger side door. Garces Perez is currently in serious but stable condition at a local hospital after being shot once in the torso.

The incident has sparked demands for an independent investigation and immediate release of body camera footage from ICE officers involved. Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, called for accountability if any officer broke the law during the operation. Meanwhile, federal Judge Orlando L. Garcia temporarily blocked Garces Perez's deportation to allow time for further investigation into the shooting.

Garces Perez entered the U.S. legally in December 2023 but was targeted for deportation due to his expired work permit. His supporters argue that he needs urgent surgery to avoid permanent nerve damage, while ICE maintains it will not slow down its operations in Austin.

Written for “Venezuelan Man Shot by ICE in Texas” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 62 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Venezuelan Man Shot by ICE in Texas
Politics · 63 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 25 claims Outlet record 69/100
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 26 claims Outlet record 70/100
BBC News
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 2 of 24 claims Outlet record 68/100
Euronews
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 60/100
Times of India
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different stages of the same incident (blocking deportation vs. return to detention after hospital), not the same specific occurrence.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
CBS News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss the shooting of an immigrant by ICE in Austin, Article B focuses on a legal development regarding deportation, which is not the primary focus of Article A.”
The Hindu
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez by an ICE agent in Austin, Texas, they describe different aspects: one focuses on his detention with a bullet still inside him, while the other covers a federal judge's decision to block his deportation.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
63
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6059 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Louis Casiano
53 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In September, OpenAI and Anthropic warned that their advanced systems could pose a direct threat to humanity.
🔮 During a Manhattan press conference, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez faced questions regarding claims that city prosecutors altered or reduced charges to help noncitizens avoid convictions that would trigger removal.
🔮 The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the woman was escorted from the premises without further incident and will not face any criminal charges.
🔮 Campaign advisors and the DSCC also weighed creating a third-party "MAGA party" to siphon votes from the incumbent senator before abandoning the idea in May, according to the report.
🔮 The district remembered her as a bright light for her "students, family, and our community," adding, "She will be missed beyond words can express." The district also praised Becky Drury, an inclusion educational assistant who was injured during the attack and is currently recovering.
🔮 Federal prosecutors cited his travel plans when asking a federal judge to seal the criminal complaint and arrest warrant against him, arguing that public knowledge of the case would prompt him to possibly flee the country. "Disclosure of the specified documents might jeopardize the defendant's arrest," court documents state.
🔮 In the background, a crowd can be heard voicing anger and dismay at the shooting.
🔮 Stephen Federico is championing "Logan’s Law," a legislative proposal that would mandate a public database for repeat violent offenders, force cross-county and interstate communication, and hold prosecutors accountable when handling habitual criminals.
🔮 New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani dined Wednesday at a Palestinian restaurant whose sister location faced intense criticism in 2023 over menu language that critics called anti-Semitic.
🔮 Instead, she was killed because two adult men resorted to deadly violence to resolve an argument over a parking spot," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said.
Also by Louis Casiano
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 53 articles by Louis Casiano →

Topics

Austin Facebook Fox News ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Subjects

ICE ORG · 10× Perez PERSON · 6× Lincoln-Goldfinch PERSON · 3× DHS ORG · 2× Fox News ORG · 2× Garces Perez PERSON · 2× Mexican NORP · 2× Texas GPE · 2× Austin GPE · 1× U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ORG · 1×

Narrative

In the wake of the shooting, multiple Democrats have criticized ICE, calling it a "rogue" agency that was "terrorizing our cities and threatening the safety of our residents." Meanwhile, on Tuesday, DHS released a list of some illegal immigrants in Texas who have been arrested for various crimes, including supporting an Islamic State-inspired mass shooting on election day in 2024 and two Mexican citizens wanted for multiple murders in their native country.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 She added that Perez still requires medical care and "we will continue fighting to protect his rights."

Claims (25 extracted, 1 hedged)

A federal judge has blocked the deportation of an illegal immigrant shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Austin over the weekend, his attorney said. asserted
attorney → block → weekend
Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, who represents him, said her office has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of her client, 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. asserted
office → represent → client
A judge ordered that Perez be present for a Sept. 30 hearing. asserted
Perez → order → hearing
"That means Wilber cannot be deported in the meantime," Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote on Facebook. asserted
Goldfinch → mean → Facebook
"For now, we have secured a temporary block on his deportation while his case moves forward." asserted
case → secure → deportation
She added that Perez still requires medical care and "we will continue fighting to protect his rights." asserted
we → add → rights
He is still in "a lot of pain" and the bullet that struck him is still lodged in his body, she said. asserted
she → strike → body
Perez, a Venezuelan citizen, was delivering a DoorDash order when he made a U-turn under the highway before ICE agents continued to pursue him. asserted
agents → deliver → him
"The truck chased him and sideswiped him again. asserted
truck → chase → him
And the agents came out and shot him in the back of the neck and pulled him out of the car," Lincoln-Goldfinch said. asserted
Goldfinch → come → car
Perez had a final order of removal, authorities said. asserted
authorities → have → removal
However, Lincoln-Goldfinch said her client received a removal order after a notice for his immigration hearing was sent to his old address, despite him having updated his address with the court. asserted
him → say → court
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza sent a letter Tuesday to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Director David Venturella asking that Garces Perez be allowed to remain in the United States pending an investigation into the shooting. asserted
Perez → send → shooting
Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and more than 100 other members of Congress also signed a letter to Mullin and Venturella demanding that Perez be released from ICE detention so he can receive medical treatment. asserted
he → sign → treatment
The lawmakers also asked that state authorities and law enforcement preserve all evidence from the shooting. asserted
authorities → ask → shooting
"Mr. Garces Perez is a key witness to this shooting, and given ICE's history of obscuring the facts in similar investigations, he must not be removed," the letter said. asserted
letter → give → investigations
The ICE officer who shot Perez is a new recruit to the agency but has years of law enforcement experience, including with the U.S. Border Patrol, sources told Fox News. asserted
sources → shoot → News
In addition, that unidentified officer wasn't wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting, multiple federal law enforcement sources told Fox News. asserted
sources → wear → News
ICE is supposed to have every officer equipped with cameras by the end of the month. asserted
officer → suppose → month
The officer completed the agency’s 256-hour Deportation Officer Training Program in August 2025 before undergoing additional operational and legal instruction through 2026, records show. asserted
records → complete → 2026
According to training logs, the officer scored 99.2% on his pistol qualification and completed coursework on use-of-force scenarios, as well as less-lethal tactics involving Tasers, OC spray, and batons. uncertain
officer → accord → Tasers
His curriculum also included field operations training and practical exercises covering the entire custody continuum, alongside instruction on warrantless arrests, Title 19 authority, escort and removal procedures, expedited removal and custody procedures. asserted
curriculum → include → arrests
Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. asserted
Digital → reach → Security
In the wake of the shooting, multiple Democrats have criticized ICE, calling it a "rogue" agency that was "terrorizing our cities and threatening the safety of our residents." Meanwhile, on Tuesday, DHS released a list of some illegal immigrants in Texas who have been arrested for various crimes, including supporting an Islamic State-inspired mass shooting on election day in 2024 and two Mexican citizens wanted for multiple murders in their native country. asserted
who → criticize → country
The list also includes child sex offenders, drug dealers, and one Mexican man arrested after posting a TikTok video in 2025 in Spanish soliciting the murder of ICE agents and offering a $10,000 reward. asserted
list → include → reward
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