{"id":444870,"date":"2026-09-23T06:34:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T06:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/444870\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T06:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T06:34:19","slug":"man-shot-by-ice-in-austin-receiving-tylenol-ibuprofen-to-reduce-pain-while-in-custody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/444870\/","title":{"rendered":"Man shot by ICE in Austin receiving Tylenol, ibuprofen to reduce pain while in custody\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Gunshot victim Wilber Rafael Garces Perez leans against a vehicle prior to Sunday\u2019s shooting. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

Guards at the San Antonio-area detention center holding a Venezuelan man shot Sunday in Austin by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent are treating him with Tylenol and ibuprofen, his lawyer said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, still has a bullet stuck in his back from the shooting, attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a Tuesday update on social media platform X<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Perez was brought back to a hospital from the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall late Monday after losing the ability to use one of his arms, she added. While there, he received a morphine drip and was put into a sling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply grateful to Congressman Joaquin Castro and Congressman Greg Casar\u2019s office for helping us push for Wilber to receive appropriate care,\u201d Lincoln-Goldfinch tweeted.<\/p>\n

Despite that intervention, Perez was discharged back from the hospital and returned to ICE custody around midnight and is now being treated with over-the-counter pain medication, she added.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, San Antonio U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia granted an emergency order for a hearing on Perez\u2019s status. That is scheduled for Sept. 30.<\/p>\n

Lincoln-Goldfinch maintains that her client was legally in the U.S.<\/a> and had a valid work permit. She said his asylum request was working its way through the courts when he was arrested.<\/p>\n

Even so, an unmarked ICE vehicle sideswiped his car Sunday afternoon while he was delivering food for DoorDash, according to Lincoln-Goldfinch\u2019s version of events.<\/p>\n

The attorney speculated that Perez accidentally missed a court date after the court mailed a summons for a hearing to the wrong address, something she said happens frequently. <\/p>\n

However, officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintain the federal government issued a removal order for Perez. DHS officials have also said the ICE agent, who wasn\u2019t wearing a body camera at the time of the incident, fired at Perez after a brief foot pursuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf sanctuary politicians like the Mayor of Austin had their priorities straight, they\u2019d stop putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people,\u201d DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a Tuesday tweet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe men and women of ICE have arrested some of the most heinous criminal illegal aliens in Texas, including terrorists, pedophiles, drug traffickers, and fugitives wanted for murder,\u201d Mullin continued. \u201cDHS will NEVER apologize for removing these criminals from our communities, because deporting illegal aliens saves lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a Monday press conference in Austin, Lincoln-Goldfinch tried to have Perez call in to tell his side of the story.<\/p>\n

However, the line went dead after guards at the Pearsall detention center ripped the tablet Perez was using for the call from his hands, Lincoln-Goldfinch stated in a series of tweets on Tuesday. They also revoked his communication privileges and moved him to an isolated room, she said.<\/p>\n

Perez\u2019s treatment while in custody has led to an outcry from Democratic lawmakers<\/a> and immigrant-rights advocates nationwide. The scandal also comes with less than six weeks until the midterms \u2014\u00a0elections in which Republicans face a real threat of losing control of both the House and Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, a man is being held with a bullet lodged in his body at a federal facility in Pearsall, Texas,\u201d said state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor. \u201cI\u2019ve never heard of such a thing in modern-day America. This is cruel and unusual and marks a depraved new low at ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hinojosa\u2019s comments, provided via email, come as Fox News on Tuesday shifted the governor\u2019s race<\/a> to a toss-up even though Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott is armed with a war chest that dwarfs that of his opponent. <\/p>\n

Vikki Goodwin, the Democrat running for lieutenant governor, called ICE\u2019s treatment of Perez \u201cinhumane\u201d and demanded a complete ban on ICE traffic stops.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need an independent investigation of this tragedy, and we need to end racial profiling on the streets of our nation,\u201d Goodwin said in a statement. \u201cICE needs to be held accountable to their own standards and leave traffic stops to the appropriate local and state agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Texas Republicans have remained largely mum on the Austin shooting.\u200b<\/p>\n

When asked about it Tuesday, Abbot said he needs more information<\/a> before issuing a statement on the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like the details remain sketchy,\u201d the governor told reporters. \u201cThere\u2019s not full information yet available about exactly what happened and what the status is right now. But we will work to stay on top of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Surge\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tPeople who work near the site where ICE shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez say the agency\u2019s presence in the area has been constant amid President Trump\u2019s mass deportation push.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"ICE\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe shooting in Austin, which injured Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, came more than two months after an ICE officer fatally shot a man in Houston.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Trump\u2019s\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe toll is both human and economic, and it\u2019s a shame we let it get this far. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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