Congressman Greg Casar Visits Venezuelan Man Shot by Immigration Officer in ICE Custody
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) visited Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall on Wednesday, three days after Garcés Pérez was shot by a federal immigration officer in North Austin. Staff members from the office of Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) joined the visit. Casar, whose district includes Austin, became the first member of Congress to visit Garcés Pérez in person since the shooting.
During the visit, Casar reported that Garcés Pérez saw a specialist for the first time today, and that the specialist said he needs surgery to remove the bullet still lodged near his spine. “I did tell his wife on the way here that his spirit, though, remains strong,” Casar said. The wound in Garcés Pérez’s back remains bloody, and medical staff change his gauze two or three times daily. According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, an immigration law firm, “According to the detainee who spoke with his wife, Wilber appeared discolored, extremely swollen, and in significant pain.”
Casar also said that some of the other key witnesses, including agents, could be interviewed as soon as this week. The shooting has raised concerns about the use of force by immigration officers. Data shows that ICE officers made the vast majority of arrests in the community through traffic stops and other enforcement methods, rather than through targeted operations.
Garcés Pérez remains in the Texas detention center as he awaits surgery and continues to recover. The visit by Casar and Castro’s staff underscores growing congressional oversight of immigration enforcement practices and the treatment of detainees. Calls for transparency and accountability have intensified following the incident.
Shimanta Das 
