Judge Pauses Deportation of Venezuelan Man Shot by ICE Agents Until 30 September Hearing
A federal judge has temporarily barred the deportation of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man shot by immigration agents in Texas, pending an in-person court appearance on 30 September. BBC
He cannot be removed before that hearing, according to his lawyer. Judge Orlando Garcia set the date after immigration lawyer Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch filed a federal lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent her client's removal from the country. The order works like a pause button, freezing enforcement action while the court retains jurisdiction.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garces Perez was making a DoorDash delivery when an unmarked black truck sideswiped his car. He did not know the truck was an ICE vehicle, she said, and made a U-turn. His car was hit again. Agents then got out and shot him. The shooting occurred on Sunday afternoon in North Austin. Fox 5 New York
Garces Perez is being held in a detention centre with a bullet in his back, according to his lawyer. The gunshot fractured his clavicle, the collarbone. He is wearing a sling and has significant swelling and pain. After he was unable to move his arm inside the facility, he was taken back to hospital on Monday evening, treated, and returned to detention. Garces Perez said he was handcuffed, shackled at the ankles, placed in a waist chain and handled roughly during his transfer despite his injury. His lawyer said detention personnel revoked his communication privileges and moved him from an infirmary to an isolated room with a flat, non-adjustable bed.
The Department of Homeland Security said it is investigating the shooting of a migrant in the Texan capital. The department has not confirmed that Garces Perez was shot in the back. Texas lawmaker Joaquin Castro demanded Garces Perez's release from detention on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Texas declined to comment on the case.
The broader context here is about process and review. A temporary restraining order does not decide liability or the lawfulness of the stop and shooting. It preserves the status quo so a court can examine the claims. The 30 September hearing will bring removal authority, detention standards and the factual dispute over the encounter into the same courtroom.
In my view, the sequence that the court will have to untangle is now familiar to immigration litigators. Medical need, limits on communication, and housing placement often shape requests for release or for stays of removal. The DHS investigation runs on a separate track. Congressional intervention raises the political visibility. The court record will control. What matters next is documentation: medical evaluations, custody logs, and the findings, if any, released from the federal review.
