Judge keeps immigrant delivery driver shot by ICE in custody for alleged assault

Key Points:

• Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a Venezuelan delivery driver shot by a federal immigration agent in Austin, Texas, will remain in custody on charges of assaulting a federal officer while allegedly attempting to evade arrest, according to Judge Dustin Howell.
• Prosecutors presented body-worn camera footage showing Garcés Pérez striking an ICE officer with his car’s side mirror before fleeing, though the actual shooting was not captured on video, and the officer who fired was not wearing a body camera.
• Garcés Pérez, who remains hospitalized with a bullet lodged in his back, faces up to 20 years in prison; his defense claims the charges are retaliatory and the footage inconclusive, while also accusing ICE of denying him necessary medical treatment.
• The case has drawn criticism from immigration advocates and Democrats, highlighting concerns over aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and the use of vehicular stops by DHS agents.
• Garcés Pérez entered the U.S. legally in 2024 as an asylum seeker with a valid work permit but was later ordered deported after missing a court hearing due to a notice sent to a former address; the judge cited flight risk in denying bond.