ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, Texas

Associated Press reporters Jesse Bedayn, Christopher Weber and Rebecca Boone report that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and seriously wounded a 28-year-old Venezuelan man during an immigration enforcement operation in Austin, Texas, on September 20. The man, identified by his family’s attorney as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, was shot once in the torso and was reported in serious but stable condition before being placed in federal custody.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said city police were not involved in the traffic stop or shooting. Texas officials said ICE had requested assistance with a vehicle pursuit, but state troopers arrived after the shooting had already occurred. Federal authorities said Garces Perez had entered the United States illegally during the Biden administration and was subject to a final removal order. His family’s immigration attorney disputed parts of that account, initially saying she believed he had no criminal history or final removal order, though she later acknowledged she did not know his current immigration status.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson called for the city’s police department to participate in the investigation, arguing that independent local involvement would provide greater public confidence. The Travis County district attorney’s office similarly asked federal authorities to provide local investigators access to evidence. Homeland Security Investigations, assisted by the FBI, is conducting the federal investigation.

The shooting prompted roughly 100 protesters to gather near the scene, where police carrying riot shields faced demonstrators. The incident comes amid a major increase in ICE enforcement nationwide, with more than 50,000 arrests recorded in both July and August — the first time ICE had reached that monthly level. AP notes several other recent shootings involving immigration agents, including a fatal shooting in Houston and another shooting in Maine.

Bottom line: The Austin shooting has intensified scrutiny of ICE’s expanded enforcement operations and raised immediate questions over the circumstances of the shooting, the man’s immigration status, and whether federal authorities will allow meaningful participation by local investigators.