A Venezuelan asylum seeker who was shot in the back by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Texas is facing a federal assault charge, after prosecutors accused him of striking the officer with his car’s side-view mirror.
asserted
prosecutors → shoot → mirror
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, appeared in federal court in Austin on Tuesday, where he was charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer.
asserted
he → appear → officer
He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
uncertain
He → face → prison
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The charge stems from a September 20 encounter that began while Garces Perez was making a DoorDash food delivery near a shopping centre in Austin, the Texas state capital.
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Perez → shoot → Austin
A federal complaint filed on Monday says immigration officers noticed that Garces Perez’s car had its emergency lights flashing, and they ran a database check.
asserted
they → file → check
They found it was registered to Garces Perez, who was subject to a final order of removal from the US.
asserted
who → find → US
When the officers approached, Garces Perez handed over his driver’s license through a partially opened window but did not get out of the car, the complaint says.
asserted
complaint → approach → car
He asked the officers to wait until his wife could arrive to retrieve the vehicle.
uncertain
wife → ask → vehicle
Court documents describe the exchange up to that point as “pleasant and not aggressive”.
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documents → describe → point
About a minute later, however, court documents say Garces Perez “abruptly” closed his window and drove off, striking one of the officers in the torso with his driver’s side mirror.
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Perez → say → mirror
That officer chased Garces Perez in his own vehicle and caught up with him a short time later.
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officer → chase → him
In the complaint, the officer alleges that Garces Perez then tried to drive into him, prompting him to open fire.
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Perez → allege → fire
Videos, however, have circulated online showing the shooting’s aftermath, with Garces Perez injured in his car.
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Perez → circulate → car
The complaint relies on unreleased body-camera footage from one of the two ICE officers who stopped Garces Perez.
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who → rely → Perez
The second officer was not wearing a body camera, according to the affidavit.
uncertain
officer → wear → affidavit
That officer says he was struck by Garces Perez’s side mirror and later shot him.
asserted
he → say → him
Garces Perez, however, gave federal investigators a different account of the moments immediately before he was shot.
asserted
he → give → moments
He told investigators that, after a brief chase, a law enforcement SUV struck his car, causing it to spin around, according to the affidavit.
uncertain
it → tell → affidavit
He said the officer then opened fire, shooting him in the back.
asserted
officer → say → back
Garces Perez has been held in a detention facility in south Texas since the shooting.
asserted
Perez → hold → shooting
His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said on Sunday the bullet was still lodged in his body and that he has a fractured clavicle.
asserted
he → say → clavicle
In a social media post, Lincoln-Goldfinch explained that his supporters were worried he could develop sepsis or suffer permanent damage if he didn’t undergo surgery soon.
uncertain
he → explain → surgery
The Department of Homeland Security has argued, however, that Garces Perez is receiving adequate medical care.
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Perez → argue → care
Garces Perez’s legal team is also seeking to stop his removal from the US.
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team → seek → US
The Venezuelan national entered the US in 2024 through CBP One, an online programme expanded under former President Joe Biden to allow asylum seekers to make appointments with immigration authorities at the US-Mexico border.
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seekers → enter → border
Trump ended the programme on his first day back in office, accusing the app of contributing to an immigration crisis in the US.
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Trump → end → US
His administration has since relaunched CBP One as CBP Home, a self-deportation portal.
asserted
administration → relaunche → Home
Lincoln-Goldfinch has said Garces Perez was legally seeking asylum in the US and had a valid work permit.
asserted
Perez → say → permit
She has asserted that he was ordered to be deported after missing an immigration court hearing because the notice had been sent to an old address.
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notice → assert → address
Garces Perez is due back before a federal immigration judge on Wednesday for a separate hearing on whether he can remain in the country.
asserted
he → remain → country
The case comes amid a surge in immigration enforcement during Trump’s second term, with ICE reporting more than 50,000 arrests in both July and August.
asserted
ICE → come → July
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