ICE Officer in Austin Shooting Was Not Wearing Body Camera

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer involved in the Sunday shooting of a Venezuelan man in Austin, Texas, was not wearing a body camera at the time of the incident, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The shooting targeted Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old DoorDash driver who federal officials say holds a deportation order.

The absence of body camera footage, first reported by The Atlantic, is expected to intensify scrutiny over the use of force by federal agents. The incident has triggered protests across Texas and renewed demands for an independent, transparent investigation into the conduct of immigration enforcement personnel.

This event represents the latest confrontation involving federal agents as part of President Trump’s intensified crackdown on illegal immigration. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had stated earlier in September that all ICE officers would be outfitted with body cameras by the end of the month. “We’re getting close,” Mullin told reporters in New York. “By the end of September, I’m pretty sure we will be there.” Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment immediately on why the officer in this case was not equipped.

Garces Perez’s medical treatment and custody status have also drawn criticism. After being hospitalized following the shooting, he was transferred into ICE custody, with the Department of Homeland Security asserting he is in the country unlawfully. Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas revealed that Garces Perez was returned to a hospital on Monday after reporting loss of feeling on his left side and suspecting a bullet fragment remained embedded in his back.

By Tuesday, Castro confirmed the detainee had been moved back to ICE’s South Texas Detention Complex in Pearsall, with plans to visit him Wednesday. Garces Perez’s attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, reported on social media platform X that her client is receiving only Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain management. She added that he remains in isolation on a flat bed and lacks access to the tablet he previously used to communicate.

Lincoln-Goldfinch filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of Garces Perez’s detention. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia ordered the detainee to appear in person for a hearing on the petition scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, effectively preventing his deportation until that time.