Texas Officials: Don't Let ICE Investigate Itself in Austin Shooting

I'm your constituent, and I'm asking you to demand a full, unbiased investigation into the ICE shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in North Austin. Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man with no criminal history, was shot in the torso Sunday while working a DoorDash delivery. Austin police were not involved in the shooting, and ICE is now investigating its own agent, with the FBI assisting (CBS News, Sept. 21, 2026). What happened next makes independent oversight urgent. Garces Perez was held for roughly six hours after the shooting, during which officers gave his wife no meaningful information about his location or condition. He was released from the hospital directly into ICE custody, and as of last night, his family still didn't know where he was being held (Austin American-Statesman, Sept. 21, 2026). A shooting victim shouldn't disappear into federal custody before local or state investigators can take his statement. Whoever holds office, we can agree that any agency using deadly force in Texas owes the public a transparent account. I'm asking you to call for an independent investigation that includes the Texas Rangers rather than ICE alone, demand the immediate public release of body camera and surveillance footage from the shooting, and press ICE to explain why Garces Perez was moved into federal custody before giving a full statement to local or state investigators.