A federal judge has ordered that Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the 28-year-old Venezuelan who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas, Sunday to be present at a Sept. 30 court hearing, essentially prohibiting immigration officials from deporting him before then.
On Tuesday morning, the Travis County, Texas, District Attorney’s Office sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella, requesting that removal proceedings against Garces Perez be halted while the local and state investigations into his shooting continue.
"If criminal charges are filed in Travis County in relation to the shooting, the State of Texas expects that Mr. Garces Perez's testimony would be necessary in any subsequent prosecution," the district attorney's letter reads. "Mr. Garces Perez's ability to participate in the ongoing investigation or any future prosecution related to this incident, however, will be severely hindered if Mr. Garces Perez is removed from the United States."
"To ensure a complete, impartial inquiry into the shooting of Mr. Garces Perez, l ask that Mr. Garces Perez be allowed to remain in the United States during the pendency of this criminal investigation," the letter adds.
In an order scheduling the court hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia said Garces Perez must be present at the hearing, effectively pausing any attempt by the administration to deport him before then.
Garces Perez was released from a hospital Monday evening and returned to federal custody, according to his attorney.
Garces Perez's attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said in a social media post on Tuesday that her client was transferred back to a federal detention facility in Pearsall, Texas, after being treated at a hospital.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said that she spoke with Garces Perez by video Tuesday morning and he told her that since returning to the detention facility, Garces Perez has only been "receiving Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain." He also said he has had his communication privileges revoked, allegedly in retaliation for speaking to reporters by phone during a news conference on Monday, according to Lincoln-Goldfinch.
"Wilber tells me that after he spoke publicly, guards at the Pearsall detention center forcibly took the tablet from his hands, revoked his communication privileges, and moved him out of the infirmary into an isolated room with a flat bed that cannot be adjusted like a medical bed,” she said in a post.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garces Perez was transferred to a hospital Monday night after he was unable to move his arms, after which doctors determined that Garces Perez's clavicle was fractured and that he had experienced significant swelling, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
She said Garces Perez received morphine while at the hospital. She also said she is calling on the detention facility to reinstate his communication privileges.
Garces Perez was shot in the encounter with ICE officers on Sunday while making deliveries for DoorDash, according to his attorney.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on social media Sunday, saying, "Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is leading the investigation into the officer involved shooting of an illegal alien from Venezuela, who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal, during a law enforcement operation today in Austin, TX."
Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a post on X that her client was in the country legally and had applied for asylum.
During a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, the Austin Police Department released body-camera video from the first officer who arrived at the scene after the shooting. The department also released a private dash-camera video from an off-duty detective who was in the area and reported the shooting after hearing three gunshots.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said she authorized the release of the video in an act of transparency as her department conducts a parallel investigation of the shooting along with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Davis emphasized that her officers were not involved in the ICE operation. Davis acknowledged that there was some sort of pursuit that occurred before the shooting.
The chief said she is not aware if the ICE officers involved in the incident were equipped with body-cameras.
The videos released by the Austin Police Department sheds little light on what prompted an ICE officer to open fire on Garces Perez. The videos show an Austin police officer providing medical care to Garces Perez after asking the ICE officers if he was under arrest.
Davis asked anyone who witnessed the incident and recorded videos to contact the Austin Police Department.
"The responsibility of the Austin Police Department is to follow evidence wherever it leads and conduct this investigation objectively and within the authority granted to us," Davis said.