The shooting of a Venezuelan man in his vehicle by a federal immigration officer in Texas has set off renewed protests over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
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shooting → set → crackdown
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was delivering food for DoorDash on Sunday when a traffic stop by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers ended with Perez being shot once in the back.
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Perez → deliver → back
He says officers sideswiped his car without warning and shot him as he was turning around and trying to park.
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he → say → him
Perez says he was treated at a hospital but released into ICE’s custody with a bullet still in his back.
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he → say → back
He spent the night at an immigration detention center in south Texas before being taken back to a hospital Monday, according to Perez’s attorney.
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He → spend → attorney
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security hasn’t said what led up to the shooting.
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what → say → shooting
In a statement Tuesday, the agency said Perez was “the subject of a targeted vehicle stop” and suggested he had tried to evade arrest, but gave no further details.
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he → say → details
Here’s what to know about the shooting in Austin:
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Here → ’ → Austin
Perez says he was shot making a food delivery
Perez was delivering food for DoorDash on Sunday afternoon when he says immigration officers in an unmarked truck accosted him, according to Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Perez’s attorney.
Speaking by phone with a translator during a news conference, Perez said the officers didn’t ask him to stop or turn on any flashing lights until after they had sideswiped his car.
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they → say → car
He said he did a U-turn and was trying to park when the officers rammed his car and shot him in the back of the neck.
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officers → say → neck
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement late Sunday that it is leading an investigation into the shooting with assistance from the FBI.
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it → oversee → FBI
The agency has offered no further details.
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agency → offer → details
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, the top state prosecutor in Austin, said local authorities are conducting their own investigation.
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authorities → say → investigation
In a letter Tuesday, he asked Homeland Security officials to keep Perez in the U.S. until that investigation is done.
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investigation → ask → U.S.
Judge orders Perez to appear in court
Perez’s attorney says he was an asylum seeker who entered the U.S. legally and had a valid work permit.
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who → order → permit
Homeland Security said Tuesday that Perez’s work permit expired last year and that it had a judge’s order to remove him from the U.S.
A U.S. District Court judge on Wednesday scheduled a Sept. 30 hearing in Perez’s case and ordered that he attend.
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he → say → case
Perez’s attorney said the move prohibits ICE from deporting Perez beforehand.
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move → say → Perez
Perez came to the U.S. in 2024 under a program started under President Joe Biden that set up appointments with U.S. authorities for people to be considered for asylum, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
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Goldfinch → come → asylum
President Donald Trump ended the program on his first day in office.
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Trump → end → office
A judge issued a deportation order for Perez after he missed a hearing in immigration court because the hearing notice was sent to a former address, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
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Goldfinch → issue → address
She said nothing about Perez’s legal situation justified the way he was shot and apprehended by ICE.
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he → say → ICE
What is Perez’s medical condition after being shot?
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condition → shoot → ?
Perez was taken Sunday to an Austin hospital.
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Perez → take → hospital
He said doctors didn’t remove the bullet inside him because it was close to his spine.
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it → say → spine
He said the hospital released him to ICE officers eager to move him to a detention center.
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hospital → say → center
Perez was taken to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) southwest of Austin, his attorney said.
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attorney → take → Austin
Perez said he spent Sunday night on the floor and had no pain medication until a nurse gave him a pill Monday.
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nurse → say → pill
“I am not doing well due to the gunshot wound, and I have not received the medical attention that I require,” Perez said by phone at a news conference Monday.
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Perez → do → conference
Homeland Security denied Tuesday that Perez had slept on the floor and said he was “receiving medical care around the clock, including pain medication.”
Lincoln-Goldfinch said in social media posts Tuesday that Perez, after speaking publicly about his lack of treatment, was taken back to a hospital Monday night.
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Perez → deny → hospital
She said he was given morphine for pain and his family learned the gunshot had fractured his clavicle.
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gunshot → say → clavicle
Perez was returned to the detention center around midnight Monday, the lawyer said.
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lawyer → return → midnight
Shootings during immigration sweeps have placed ICE under scrutiny
The shooting occurred amid a surge in ICE enforcement across the U.S. during Trump’s second term.
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shooting → place → term
ICE reported more than 50,000 monthly arrests in July and August — a first for the agency.
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ICE → report → agency
Immigration officers have come under intense scrutiny for shootings that have occurred during the crackdown.
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that → come → crackdown
At least 10 people have died during federal immigration sweeps since Trump returned to office last year.
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Trump → die → office
Six of them were fatally shot by federal officers.
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Six → shoot → officers
The others were struck by vehicles or suffered fatal falls while fleeing authorities.
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others → strike → authorities
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
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Bynum → report → Savannah
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