{"id":448146,"date":"2026-09-26T05:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T05:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/448146\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T05:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T05:04:09","slug":"san-antonio-activists-protest-after-man-shot-by-ice-officer-in-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/448146\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio activists protest after man shot by ICE officer in Austin"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Dozens of people gathered outside San Antonio City Hall on Friday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and the Sept. 20 shooting<\/a> of a 28-year-old man in Austin.<\/p>\n

The protest was organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation San Antonio. Demonstrators called the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez<\/a> unjust and said they want ICE removed from Texas communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want ICE out of our communities, ICE out of Texas,\u201d protester Destiny Pena said.<\/p>\n

Perez was working as a food delivery driver in Austin when he was shot by an immigration officer, according to his attorney. <\/p>\n

>> What we know after a federal immigration officer shot, injured a man in Austin<\/a><\/p>\n

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the officers in a statement shared after the shooting. The statement said, in part, \u201cResisting officers and evading arrest is dangerous for our officers, illegal aliens, and the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeking a better life is not a crime,\u201d Pena said.<\/p>\n

The shooting of Perez has prompted questions<\/a> about what led to the encounter and the medical treatment Perez received while detained.<\/p>\n

Mullin also referred to Perez as \u201can illegal alien who has no legal status to be here\u201d and said he had received \u201csome of the best medical care he\u2019s ever received in his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protesters rejected that framing and said immigration status should not determine whether someone receives humane treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no need for the kind of violent escalation that we\u2019ve seen from ICE across the country,\u201d protester Soren said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sick and tired of the suffering that the administration is putting immigrants, our sisters and brothers through,\u201d protestor Preston Wood said. \u201cWe represent millions of people who are disgusted by the racism and attempts to divide and hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don Khan, another anti-ICE protestor, said the country is at a turning point.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are really in serious, serious trouble. This country needs to recognize, to realize, we\u2019re at a crossroads,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n

Pena said protesters want dignity and safety for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re human beings,\u201d Pena said. \u201cWe all want the same things. We want a life of dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The protest also raised concerns about an ICE detention facility that is nearing operation on San Antonio\u2019s East Side. Activists in San Antonio and Austin said they plan to continue protesting in honor of Perez and against the facility.<\/p>\n

At 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, there will be a town hall at 2404 E. Houston St. The Party for Socialism and Liberation San Antonio says, \u201cSan Antonio must be the next city to STOP the development of the proposed East Side Detention Center!\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also an \u201cICE Out of Texas\u201d day of action planned at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at Anderson Square & Research in Austin.<\/p>\n

Read also:<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Dozens of people gathered outside San Antonio City Hall on Friday to protest U.S. Immigration…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[132,294,7220,1829,82,84,83,95],"class_list":["post-448146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-austin","tag-crime","tag-dhs","tag-ice","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-shooting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}