Congressman says detained Venezuelan man shot by ICE faces surgery after lingering bullet

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar visited a federal detention center in south Texas on Wednesday and said 28-year-old Wilmer Rafael Garces Perez, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Austin on Sunday, is now confined to a wheelchair and continues to experience pain. A medical specialist has told the detainee that surgery is required to extract a bullet lodged near his spine, though his family has not yet confirmed whether they will proceed.

Casar, whose district includes Austin, noted that the wound in Garces Perez’s back remains bloody and that medical staff change his gauze two or three times daily. He urged authorities to provide prompt medical care, saying, ">If they want to say it’s great medical care, they should start providing great medical care today by having him leave the detention center, go to a hospital or to a doctor, and do not delay his surgery if that’s what his family chooses to do."

The Department of Homeland Security said the detainee is receiving round-the-clock medical attention and pain medication, and denied earlier claims that he was forced to sleep on a floor or denied the bullet’s removal. ICE has not disclosed why the agent fired, only that Garces Perez was the subject of a targeted vehicle stop. The agent’s use of a body camera has not been confirmed, though the agency plans to equip all field agents with cameras by the end of the month.

According to Garces Perez’s attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, the man was making a DoorDash delivery when ICE officers in an unmarked truck sideswiped his car twice before shooting him. He was taken to a hospital, released into ICE custody with the bullet still in his back, and later transferred to the detention center.

Garces Perez entered the United States in 2024 through the CBP One program, which allowed migrants to schedule appointments for asylum consideration. He held a valid work permit, but a judge issued a deportation order after he missed a court hearing due to a notice being sent to an outdated address.

The incident occurred amid a surge in ICE activity in Austin, where more than 1,000 arrests were made in June and July, an 80 % increase from the previous year. Most arrests resulted from traffic stops and other enforcement actions rather than cooperation with local police, and nearly two-thirds of those detained had no criminal convictions or pending charges.