{"id":454811,"date":"2026-10-03T01:14:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T01:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/454811\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T01:14:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T01:14:46","slug":"austin-man-shot-by-ice-has-surgery-11-days-later-to-remove-the-bullet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/454811\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin man shot by ICE has surgery 11 days later to remove the bullet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan national working as a food delivery driver, has finally had surgery to remove the bullet from his back. Credit: Instagram \/ lincolngoldfinchlaw<\/p>\n

The Austin man shot by an ICE officer while delivering food has finally had surgery to remove the bullet from his back \u2014\u00a011 days after the incident occurred.<\/p>\n

Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez underwent surgery Thursday morning and is now recovering, according to statements from his attorneys and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio. <\/p>\n

While Garces Perez was transported to an Austin hospital after his Sept. 20 shooting, he was released just a few hours later and placed in federal custody. He\u2019s since been held in an immigrant detention prison in Pearsall, roughly an hour southwest of San Antonio. <\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged Garces Perez with assaulting and resisting a federal officer. During a preliminary hearing the following day, a federal judge ruled that he should remain locked up because he poses a flight risk.<\/p>\n

Garces Perez appeared in the federal courtroom in a wheelchair with his arm in a sling,
according to the Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Garces Perez was able to speak to his wife following his surgery, his lead attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, told the Tribune. However, Castro requested that ICE allow her to see him prior to the procedure. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy office is pushing for her to be allowed there to support him,\u201d the congressman tweeted Thursday, prior to the surgery. \u201cICE has done enough to torment this family.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBC News reports<\/a> that Garces Perez\u2019s attorneys argued in courtroom testimony that the two officers who pursued his vehicle did so in violation of new ICE orders barring personnel from engaging in high-speed chases and from making vehicle stops without having proper training. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, during Garces Perez\u2019s bond hearing, testimony revealed that the ICE officer who shot him didn\u2019t have a body camera, according to NBC News. The officer who did have a body cam was driving in a separate car and switched it off during the pursuit.<\/p>\n

Garces Perez\u2019s attorneys maintain that he\u2019s in the U.S. legally<\/a>\u00a0and has a valid work permit. His asylum request was working its way through the courts when he was arrested, they argue.<\/p>\n

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