Texas ICE shooting leaves Venezuelan DoorDash driver with bullet in his back, says lawyer

Updated 4 hours ago.

Key points

• The shooting of Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez, 28, triggered protests in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.
• Although details remain scarce, the shooting in Austin on Sunday occurred just before 1300 local time.
• Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch informed CBS that Garcés Perez called his wife while "yelling in pain" in hospital.
• Texas Congressman Greg Casar, a Democrat, has demanded a full and immediate independent investigation into the latest shooting and the release of body camera footage.
• Dozens of protesters, some waving the flags of Mexico and Guatemala, gathered at the scene carrying signs demanding that ICE leave Austin.

Meanwhile, a Venezuelan DoorDash delivery driver who was shot by ICE agents was transferred from hospital to a detention centre with a bullet still in his back, his lawyer has informed US media.

Meanwhile, the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez, 28, triggered protests in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.

Notably, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remarked in an official note to the BBC it was investigating the shooting of a man in the Texan capital who had entered the country illegally.

It was unclear what led to the shooting with the local mayor and police demanding an investigation. It comes months after a man in Houston was shot dead by an ICE officer.

Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch informed CBS that Garcés Perez called his wife while "yelling in pain" in hospital. She informed National Public Radio he was in ICE custody.

Notably, the Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement efforts and arrests during Trump's second term, sparking unrest throughout a number of US cities.

For context, the administration has defended its policies and the agency's controversial tactics as necessary for public safety and to enact Trump's campaign promise to secure the border and carry out mass deportations.

As ICE agents stood nearby, Reuters news agency documented, local television outlets indicated the demonstrators gathering throughout the street from a blue Toyota Corolla that ⁠sustained damage to the passenger-side door.

Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, remarked that Austinites have a right to know what happened and "a right to feel safe in their city" during a media briefing on Sunday.

"They should know the truth, " he remarked, adding that he is pleased that the city will additionally be involved in the investigation.

He continued that ICE operations have surged in Austin in recent weeks.

ICE has faced intense scrutiny after a number of deadly shootings, including the death of Houston resident Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

Salgado Araujo had not been a target of an ICE investigation, but was shot during an ICE traffic stop, according to DHS.

Texas Congressman Greg Casar, a Democrat, has demanded a full and immediate independent investigation into the latest shooting and the release of body camera footage. He additionally demanded "accountability for any ICE officer who broke the law".

Activists say that the administration has violated due process as it carries out the crackdown.

Democrats have demanded reforms at the agency, including requiring immigration enforcement agents to wear body cameras and not conceal their faces.

Earlier this month the US Department of Justice charged an ICE agent with lying regarding the non-fatal shooting of a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota – a rare instance in which the current justice department accused a federal agent of breaking the law on the job.

Earlier this week, Florida lawmaker Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican who has spoken out against the immigration crackdown, published an advert criticising the targeting and detaining of individuals who have no criminal record.

Salazar appeared on the CBS programme Face the Nation on Sunday and remarked that she has since spoken to the president, and believes he will keep the country on the right track. "He gets it more than anybody, " she remarked.

In short, texas ICE shooting leaves Venezuelan DoorDash driver with bullet in his back, is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.