The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement Tuesday evening to correct widespread media misinformation regarding an officer involved shooting of a Venezuelan illegal alien in Austin, Texas.
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According to DHS, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, illegally entered the United States during the Biden administration and had a final order of removal. He was shot by an ICE officer Sunday while evading arrest and reportedly sustained a bullet wound near his spine. Perez has lost movement on his entire left side, and is facing potential paralysis, according to his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, a board member of Casa Marianella, a taxpayer-funded immigrant and asylum-seeker homeless shelter in Austin.
The activist attorney has previously joked online about Charlie Kirk getting shot in the neck.
In a statement late Sunday night, DHS said Perez was in stable condition and that he was in federal custody pending removal. He was taken back to a hospital Monday night to recover from the gunshot wound, his attorney said.
Surveillance footage, obtained by independent journalist Savannah Hernandez and posted on X, shows two DHS vehicles flashing their lights and blaring their sirens as they pursued the fleeing Perez.
The footage contradicts Perez’s initial statements in which he claimed he thought the DHS SUV driving next to him was just “an aggressive driver” and that ICE officials did not turn on any lights or sirens until after they had sideswiped him.
Austin Police on Tuesday released bodycam footage of Perez following the shooting.
According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, the ICE agent who fired the shot was a recent hire who was not wearing a body camera. He has reportedly been placed on administrative leave. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is leading the investigation into the shooting.
The anti-ICE protests and riots that erupted soon after the incident were funded and organized by a network of far-left socialist and communist groups, “including the Democratic Socialists of America, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the Party for Socialism and Liberation,” according to a Fox News investigation.
“Within hours, the groups distributed nearly identical claims, promoted the same location and used dramatic language describing the shooting as “ICE terror,” “police violence” and part of a pattern of killings,” Fox reported. Many of the left’s claims have been picked up by the media, and reported as the truth.
A masked anti-ICE agitator was filmed spraying F-ck ICE, “Kill Donald Trump,” and other graffiti on a pillar in the vicinity of the shooting. The agitator, an apparent supporter of Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico, also wrote, “TALARICO LOVE WINZ” on the pillar.
“ICE will not be slowing down operations in Austin,” DHS said in response to the protests. “Our mission is to administer the laws passed by Congress — we do not pick and choose which laws to enforce or where we enforce them.”
Tuesday evening, DHS released the following statement to “debunk the many lies spread by the mainstream media, far-left activists, and sanctuary politicians regarding the shooting.”
CLAIM: ICE refused to remove the bullet from the illegal alien’s body.
FACT: This is false. ICE does not and would not advise, nor be the authority on, a medical procedure for an illegal alien at a hospital.
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CLAIM: The illegal alien had a valid work permit.
FACT: This is false. The illegal alien’s work permit expired in 2025. Furthermore, a work permit does NOT grant legal status.
CLAIM: The illegal alien was ordered removed in absentia.
FACT: Yes. This is why aliens must show up to their removal proceedings. Legal obligations do not end because someone’s address changed.
CLAIM: This illegal alien is here legally.
FACT: This is false. This person is in the U.S. illegally. He entered illegally under the Biden Administration. The illegal alien had no valid work permit, had no protective status, and had a final order of removal from a Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigration Judge.
CLAIM: This illegal alien has received no pain medication.
FACT: This is false. This illegal alien is receiving medical care around the clock, including pain medication.
CLAIM: The illegal alien has been forced to sleep on the floor.
FACT: This is false. This alien was released from the hospital and arrived at the detention facility just a few hours later, where he slept on a bed. Aliens in ICE custody receive a higher standard of living than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens.
CLAIM: This illegal alien was indiscriminately targeted by ICE.
FACT: This is false. This illegal alien was the subject of a targeted vehicle stop. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S.
CLAIM: That ICE needs to get out of Austin.
FACT: This is false. ICE will not be slowing down nor leaving Austin. DHS is tasked with enforcing the laws passed by Congress. We do not pick and choose which laws to enforce or where to enforce them. We will continue to enforce our nation’s laws.
“Resisting officers and evading arrest is dangerous for our officers, illegal aliens, and the public,” DHS stated. “We remind the public that resisting officers and evading arrest is a felony and a federal crime. Sanctuary politicians need to stop encouraging this dangerous behavior that puts our officers and the public at risk.”
DHS listed several Democrat politicians who have previously held webinars and provided resources and tips to illegal aliens on how to openly defy federal law enforcement:
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hosted a webinar providing tips for illegal aliens to evade arrests at homes, workplaces, or in public.
– Dan Goldman posted a video online calling on illegal aliens to make a plan for ICE encounters.
– Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued multilingual flyers and online resources advising illegal aliens on how to evade arrest.
– California Governor Gavin Newsom released guides and sanctuary laws advising illegal aliens how to recognize ICE, block entry, and defy arrest.
“Sanctuary politicians and the mainstream media have wasted no time in spreading lies about an ICE officer-involved shooting of an illegal alien in Austin, Texas,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Contrary to their claims, this person is an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here and has been given some of the best medical care he’s ever received in his life. No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job by removing dangerous illegal aliens from our communities and making America safe again. Sanctuary politicians may continue to shamelessly protect illegal aliens, but the Trump Administration will remain focused on protecting the American people.”
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that Perez must appear at a September 30 hearing, effectively blocking his immediate deportation.
“A federal judge has granted my emergency order to stop Wilber’s deportation,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a post on X Tuesday.
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