Venezuelan Migrant Shot by ICE Agent in Texas Has Surgery for Bullet
- Wilber Garcés, a 28-year-old Venezuelan migrant shot in the back by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas, underwent surgery to extract the bullet after remaining...
- According to government investigator documents, Garcés was tracked by agents traveling in two black pickup trucks while working his delivery job in Austin on September 20.
- Following the initial shooting, Garcés was taken to a local hospital, where medical staff discharged him after a few hours and transferred him to authorities with the bullet...
Wilber Garcés, a 28-year-old Venezuelan migrant shot in the back by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas, underwent surgery to extract the bullet after remaining detained with the projectile inside his body for eleven days, according to the sources. Garcés was approached by ICE agents while delivering food on September 20, and was subsequently shot following a short vehicle pursuit, court documents show. “Esto tardó demasiado y es aún más prueba de la crueldad de ICE, pero mantuvimos la presión y Wilber consiguió el cuidado que necesitaba”, wrote Representative Greg Casar in a post on the platform X.
The September 20 Shooting in Austin
According to government investigator documents, Garcés was tracked by agents traveling in two black pickup trucks while working his delivery job in Austin on September 20. During the ensuing short pursuit, an ICE agent discharged a firearm at Garcés.
Federal records indicate that the officer who fired the shot did not wear a body camera, a direct violation of agency requirements, while a second agent turned off recording equipment at some point during the encounter. Legal representatives from the Texas Civil Rights Project noted that the lack of active body cameras prevents a complete record of how the enforcement action escalated into a shooting.
Federal Judge Holds Garcés Without Bond
Following the initial shooting, Garcés was taken to a local hospital, where medical staff discharged him after a few hours and transferred him to authorities with the bullet still lodged in his back. He was held initially at a south Texas immigration detention facility before moving to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The U.S. government filed criminal charges against Garcés for alleged assault on a federal officer and resisting arrest. During an initial court hearing, a federal judge ordered him held without bond. Defense attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch stated that Garcés originally entered the United States in December 2023 via the CBP One application under the administration of Joe Biden and subsequently sought asylum, though an immigration judge ordered his deportation in absentia after he missed a scheduled hearing.
DHS Refers Record Cases to Federal Prosecutors
“Esto es un problema de seguridad pública. Los agentes federales no pueden actuar como jueces, jurados y verdugos en nuestras calles”, stated a communication from the Texas Civil Rights Project. Data compiled by the independent Project For Government Oversight shows that during the 2025 fiscal year, the Department of Homeland Security referred 274 cases involving potential assault, resistance, or interference charges against federal agents to federal prosecutors under Section 111 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. That figure represents the highest total since the department’s inception and nearly doubles the previous high recorded in 2019.