AFP. — The family of Venezuelan migrant Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez is demanding justice and urgent medical attention, including surgery, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot him in Austin, Texas.
Garcés sustained a gunshot wound to his upper back on Sunday in another incident that has drawn attention to the immigration enforcement operations spearheaded by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The 28-year-old Venezuelan remains in federal custody. His mother, Flor Pérez, said the bullet lodged near his spine has caused paralysis on the left side of his body. She fears the bullet could shift and damage an organ.
“He is seriously injured and in a lot of pain,” Pérez told AFP from Lara state in central Venezuela.
She explained that authorities returned him to the detention center after taking him to a hospital twice and that, so far, nurses at the facility have only given him painkillers. She said he needs a hospital bed because his current detention conditions are inadequate for his medical needs.
During a press conference from the detention center on Wednesday, Garcés said the gunshot “fractured my collarbone, and the hospital they took me to could not remove the bullet” because it came close to his spine.
Hours later, his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, reported that authorities had once again “transferred him to another hospital because he now has paralysis on his left side.”
Flor Pérez lives with the Venezuelan migrant’s son, a minor who has had a motor disability (cerebral palsy) since birth. The child depends financially on the remittances Garcés sends from Texas to cover his medications and treatments.
His mother is also demanding an investigation and disciplinary action against the officer who shot him. She described the law enforcement operation as a flagrant human rights violation.
“He called me on a video call, and I saw him sitting in his parked car. He told me that another car was coming and crashed into him,” Pérez recounted. “Then he said, ‘Mom, they shot me, they shot me.’”
Other relatives in Venezuela criticized ICE’s lack of transparency surrounding the incident. His aunt, Gladys Pérez, expressed the family’s “absolute rejection” of what they consider excessive use of force.
“The truth is there was no reason to shoot Wilber. They say he fled. However, I do not believe that justifies it. He is not a criminal. They should not treat him like one,” the teacher said from Yaracuy state in north-central Venezuela.
Gladys Pérez also accused the U.S. agency of withholding information, saying the family still does not know the legal grounds for his detention.
According to his relatives, Wilber Garcés left Venezuela more than five years ago and entered the United States legally from Mexico nearly three years ago under the humanitarian parole program. He also has a pending asylum application.
“He did not enter through illegal routes,” Angelsis Vásquez emphasized, adding that the young man had authorization to work as a DoorDash delivery driver.
