<p>Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan man, had a bullet removed from his back on Thursday, nearly two weeks after being shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a traffic stop in Austin, Texas, on September 20.</p>
<p>Representative Greg Casar (D-TX) announced the surgery on social media, stating, "Good news: Wilber Garces Perez finally had surgery to remove the bullet that was in his back for 11 days. It took far too long, and it’s more proof of ICE cruelty. But we kept up the pressure, and Wilber got the care he needed."</p>
<p>Garces Perez, 28, was shot while making DoorDash deliveries. This week, the Justice Department announced that he had been charged with assaulting, resisting, interfering with, or impeding a federal officer.</p>
<p>According to a criminal complaint, ICE officers ordered Garces Perez to park his vehicle and exit after pulling him over. After receiving additional instructions in Spanish, he allegedly closed his window and drove away, striking one of the ICE officers in the torso with the driver’s-side mirror.</p>
<p>A federal judge ruled that the case against Garces Perez should proceed after prosecutors presented body-camera footage from the incident. His attorneys stated he was in severe pain and urgently needed surgery while he was held at an ICE detention facility in Texas.</p>
<p>The defense has disputed the government’s account of the shooting and the claim that Garces Perez struck an officer with his vehicle. They argued that federal investigators could not confirm whether the officer was hit by the mirror, as the officer had not been interviewed directly, and questioned why the officer allegedly struck by the mirror was not wearing a body camera.</p>
<p>Garces Perez’s immigration attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, accused ICE of denying him necessary medical treatment for his wound. She stated, "ICE’s conduct has been so egregious that physicians, nurses, medical ethicists, and health advocates have come together to demand his release."</p>
<p>The Department of Homeland Security has disputed claims that Garces Perez was denied appropriate medical care, stating that ICE does not determine whether a bullet should be surgically removed.</p>
<p>Lincoln-Goldfinch also disputed the circumstances surrounding Garces Perez’s immigration case, noting that he entered the United States legally in 2024 through a Biden-era immigration program that was ended by President Donald Trump. She added, "The immigration court sent a notice for a hearing to an old address. Happens all the time. Not a reason to get shot in the street in the United States of America."</p>