The Department of Homeland Security issued a detailed statement Tuesday evening disputing what it called widespread misinformation about the shooting of a Venezuelan national during an ICE arrest attempt in Austin, Texas. The statement directly rebutted a series of claims circulated by media outlets, activists, and elected officials following the incident.
According to DHS, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, entered the United States illegally during the Biden administration and carried a final order of removal. He was shot by an ICE officer Sunday while evading arrest and suffered a bullet wound near his spine. His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said Perez has lost movement on his entire left side and faces potential paralysis.
It appears that many of the ‘fake news’ media personalities are more supportive of criminals than the people who hold them accountable to the rule of law.
Surveillance Footage Contradicts Perez’s Account
Surveillance video obtained by independent journalist Savannah Hernandez and posted on X shows two DHS vehicles with lights flashing and sirens active as they pursued Perez. That footage directly contradicts statements from Perez, who claimed he believed the DHS SUV beside him was simply an aggressive driver and that agents did not activate lights or sirens until after sideswiping him. Austin Police also released bodycam footage Tuesday from officers who responded after the shooting.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said the ICE agent who fired the shot was a recent hire not equipped with a body camera and has since been placed on administrative leave. Homeland Security Investigations, with FBI assistance, is leading the inquiry. According to ICE shooting Austin investigation, a federal judge on Tuesday ordered that Perez must appear at a September 30 hearing, effectively blocking his immediate deportation for now.
DHS Fact-Checks a List of Circulating Claims
The DHS statement addressed specific claims point by point. It called false the assertion that Perez had a valid work permit, noting his permit expired in 2025 and that a work permit does not grant legal status. DHS also rejected claims that ICE refused to remove the bullet from his body, that he was forced to sleep on a floor, and that he had received no pain medication, stating he is receiving around-the-clock medical care including pain medication and slept in a bed at the detention facility.
On the question of his legal status, DHS was direct. “This person is in the U.S. illegally,” the statement said. “He entered illegally under the Biden Administration. The illegal alien had no valid work permit, had no protective status, and had a final order of removal from a Department of Justice Immigration Judge.
Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico pushed back on that framing in a post on X. “Wilber came to this country legally. He has no criminal record,” Talarico wrote. “An ICE agent shot him anyway. He slept on a prison cell floor with a bullet still lodged in his back. He can’t move the left side of his body. This isn’t law enforcement. It’s lawlessness.”
DHS Secretary Mullin Responds, Vows Continued Operations
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued a direct statement condemning what he called a coordinated effort to spread false narratives. Sanctuary politicians and the mainstream media have wasted no time in spreading lies about an ICE officer-involved shooting of an illegal alien in Austin, Texas,” Mullin said. “No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job by removing dangerous illegal aliens from our communities and making America safe again.”
DHS also addressed the protests that followed the shooting, which a Fox News investigation attributed to organized far-left groups including the Democratic Socialists of America, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The department named several Democratic officials, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and California Governor Gavin Newsom, accusing them of providing resources to help people evade ICE. “ICE will not be slowing down operations in Austin,” DHS stated. “Our mission is to administer the laws passed by Congress. We do not pick and choose which laws to enforce or where we enforce them.”
With the September 30 court hearing now ordered, the legal fight over Perez’s deportation moves to federal court. Lincoln-Goldfinch confirmed Tuesday that a judge granted her emergency order halting his removal, setting up a near-term judicial review of the case.
