More than 100 Democrats rushed to demand the release of a Venezuelan migrant who was shot during an ICE pursuit in Austin.
Then the Department of Homeland Security fired back with a list of facts it says the politicians and media left out.
The shooting remains under investigation, and the available videos do not show the moment an ICE officer opened fire. That makes precision especially important—and political certainty especially reckless.
Fox News reports that Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, was shot after a vehicle pursuit Sunday. He was treated at a hospital, taken into ICE custody, and later returned for additional medical care.
Rep. Greg Casar and more than 100 Democratic members of Congress demanded his release, arguing that he was not receiving adequate care while a bullet remained in his body.
Casar posted an update after visiting the detention center:
DHS disputes several claims made by Garces Perez’s advocates.
The department says ICE does not decide whether a hospital removes a bullet, that the detainee received around-the-clock medical care and pain medication, and that he was given a bed within hours of arriving at the detention center.
DHS also rejects the claim that Garces Perez had lawful status and a valid work permit. The agency says he entered illegally during the Biden administration, had no active protective status or work authorization, and was subject to a final removal order issued by an immigration judge.
The department further says officers were trying to arrest him under that final order when the vehicle pursuit began. It argues that the public dispute over medical treatment cannot be separated from the reason agents sought him in the first place.
The agency directly accused Casar of misrepresenting the medical situation:
The Department of Homeland Security says the incident began when officers attempted to arrest Garces Perez and he tried to evade them in a vehicle. The department called that conduct dangerous to officers, the public, and the person being pursued.
Garces Perez and his attorneys tell a different story. They say unmarked vehicles struck his car before he understood who was trying to stop him and that he was shot after asking to pull over somewhere safer.
DHS says resisting officers and fleeing are themselves serious crimes. Its public statement insists that the agency will continue enforcing immigration law in Austin despite pressure from sanctuary-city politicians and activists.
The agency says the investigation remains active and that the available facts do not support demands that ICE abandon the city.
Casar continued pressing that account publicly:
There is another serious issue that cannot be waved away: the ICE officer who fired reportedly was not wearing an issued body camera.
The Texas Tribune reports that the officer was a recent hire and that another agent’s camera did not capture the shooting. Austin police released footage showing parts of the stop and the aftermath, but not the gunfire itself.
The outlet also reports that Casar saw Garces Perez in a wheelchair with his arm in a sling and severe pain on his left side. Medical staff at the detention center had been cleaning the wound several times per day, according to Casar.
The missing footage matters because it leaves the central use-of-force question dependent on witness accounts, physical evidence, and officer reports. Support for immigration enforcement is no substitute for a complete investigation.
But the same standard applies to Democrats who accused ICE of deliberate medical neglect before the investigation was complete. A congressional letter is not evidence, and a press conference does not override hospital records, immigration files, or video.
Congressman Casar’s office says the lawmakers demanded medical treatment and a halt to deportation. A federal court has temporarily kept Garces Perez in the country while the legal fight proceeds.
The public deserves the complete evidence: the officers’ reports, medical records that can lawfully be disclosed, all available camera footage, and an independent review of the use of force.
Until then, DHS is right to correct factual claims it says are false, and Congress is right to demand preservation of evidence. What neither side should do is turn an unfinished investigation into a slogan.
Enforce the law and protect due process. Follow the evidence wherever it leads.
The post DHS Fires Back After 100+ Democrats Demand Release Of Venezuelan Migrant Shot During ICE Chase appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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[H/T 100PercentFedUp]
