Guards at the San Antonio-area detention center holding a Venezuelan man shot Sunday in Austin by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent are treating him with Tylenol and ibuprofen, his lawyer said.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, still has a bullet stuck in his back from the shooting, attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a Tuesday update on social media platform X.
Perez was brought back to a hospital from the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall late Monday after losing the ability to use one of his arms, she added. While there, he received a morphine drip and was put into a sling.
“We are deeply grateful to Congressman Joaquin Castro and Congressman Greg Casar’s office for helping us push for Wilber to receive appropriate care,” Lincoln-Goldfinch tweeted.
Despite that intervention, Perez was discharged back from the hospital and returned to ICE custody around midnight and is now being treated with over-the-counter pain medication, she added.
On Tuesday, San Antonio U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia granted an emergency order for a hearing on Perez’s status. That is scheduled for Sept. 30.
Lincoln-Goldfinch maintains that her client was legally in the U.S. and had a valid work permit. She said his asylum request was working its way through the courts when he was arrested.
Even so, an unmarked ICE vehicle sideswiped his car Sunday afternoon while he was delivering food for DoorDash, according to Lincoln-Goldfinch’s version of events.
The attorney speculated that Perez accidentally missed a court date after the court mailed a summons for a hearing to the wrong address, something she said happens frequently.
However, officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintain the federal government issued a removal order for Perez. DHS officials have also said the ICE agent, who wasn’t wearing a body camera at the time of the incident, fired at Perez after a brief foot pursuit.
“If sanctuary politicians like the Mayor of Austin had their priorities straight, they’d stop putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a Tuesday tweet.
“The men and women of ICE have arrested some of the most heinous criminal illegal aliens in Texas, including terrorists, pedophiles, drug traffickers, and fugitives wanted for murder,” Mullin continued. “DHS will NEVER apologize for removing these criminals from our communities, because deporting illegal aliens saves lives.”
During a Monday press conference in Austin, Lincoln-Goldfinch tried to have Perez call in to tell his side of the story.
However, the line went dead after guards at the Pearsall detention center ripped the tablet Perez was using for the call from his hands, Lincoln-Goldfinch stated in a series of tweets on Tuesday. They also revoked his communication privileges and moved him to an isolated room, she said.
Perez’s treatment while in custody has led to an outcry from Democratic lawmakers and immigrant-rights advocates nationwide. The scandal also comes with less than six weeks until the midterms — elections in which Republicans face a real threat of losing control of both the House and Senate.
“Right now, a man is being held with a bullet lodged in his body at a federal facility in Pearsall, Texas,” said state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor. “I’ve never heard of such a thing in modern-day America. This is cruel and unusual and marks a depraved new low at ICE.”
Hinojosa’s comments, provided via email, come as Fox News on Tuesday shifted the governor’s race to a toss-up even though Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott is armed with a war chest that dwarfs that of his opponent.
Vikki Goodwin, the Democrat running for lieutenant governor, called ICE’s treatment of Perez “inhumane” and demanded a complete ban on ICE traffic stops.
“We need an independent investigation of this tragedy, and we need to end racial profiling on the streets of our nation,” Goodwin said in a statement. “ICE needs to be held accountable to their own standards and leave traffic stops to the appropriate local and state agencies.”
Meanwhile, Texas Republicans have remained largely mum on the Austin shooting.
When asked about it Tuesday, Abbot said he needs more information before issuing a statement on the matter.
“It seems like the details remain sketchy,” the governor told reporters. “There’s not full information yet available about exactly what happened and what the status is right now. But we will work to stay on top of it.”
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Related Stories
ICE officer shoots, injures man in Austin, officials say
Trump’s war on immigration leaves us a weaker nation
More young people getting involved with South Texas civil rights group amid Trump immigration crackdown
