Austin ICE shooting: Federal judge grants emergency order to stop man's deportation

AUSTIN, Texas - The attorney for a Venezuelan man shot by an ICE agent in North Austin says that a federal judge has granted an emergency order to stop his deportation.

Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, who is representing Wilber Rafael Garces Perez and his family, shared the update on X on Sept. 22.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Austin ICE shooting: New details released on man shot by ICE agents

What they're saying:

Lincoln-Goldfinch also posted a video update to X as well, saying that Perez is still in a lot of pain and that the bullet is still lodged in his body.

She says that they have filed a federal lawsuit and the judge in the case has ordered Perez be present at the first hearing.

Lincoln-Goldfinch says this means he will not be deported in the meantime.

What's next:

The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Man shot by ICE describes shooting

Local perspective:

Wilber told Lincoln-Goldfinch that he was driving for DoorDash on Sunday when an unmarked car sideswiped him. He did not know it was ICE. 

He told Lincoln-Goldfinch that he did a U-turn under the highway and was then sideswiped again. He then said the agents got out of the unmarked car and shot him in the back of the neck. They then pulled him from the car.

Lincoln-Goldfinch said there was no foot chase. However, ICE said there was a foot chase.

Lincoln-Goldfinch is now calling for the full body-camera footage from the incident. 

Homeland Security Investigations confirms that Perez is from Venezuela and had entered the country illegally. They say Perez had a final order of removal.

Perez was taken into federal custody to the South Texas ICE processing center in Pearsall, but has since been taken back to the hospital according to Rep. Joaquin Castro.

What happened in the ICE shooting on Sept. 20 in Austin?

The backstory:

It's still not clear exactly what happened during the law enforcement operation before the ICE agent opened fire in North Austin.

Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Rob Luckritz said emergency crews were notified of a reported shooting at about 12:56 p.m. in the 8000 block of Anderson Square.

Paramedics arrived within about 3 1/2 minutes and found an adult man with a gunshot wound. The man was transported to a local trauma center in serious but stable condition.

Luckritz said the patient was taken from the scene within nine minutes of EMS crews’ arrival.

APD Chief Lisa Davis said the shooting involved a federal agent and later confirmed she had been told the agent was with ICE.

Austin police were not involved in the shooting. Officers helped block roads and direct traffic near Research Boulevard and Anderson Square.

Davis said the Austin Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, which investigates officer-involved shootings, was at the scene.

She said during Sunday's press conference that she had not yet been briefed by federal authorities about the operation. Davis said she had heard there was a brief foot pursuit, but emphasized that the information was preliminary.

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