An officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that carries out civil immigration enforcement across the country, shot and wounded a man during an operation in Austin, Texas. City officials confirmed the shooting and said they were gathering more information about the circumstances.
ICE has expanded its enforcement operations in cities across the country in recent years, and encounters between officers and the people they are trying to detain sometimes turn confrontational. In this case, reporting identified the man who was shot as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, though officials have not released a full account of what led to the shooting or the man's current condition.
The incident quickly became a local flashpoint. A Democratic official in the area publicly called for the release of body camera footage from the operation and asked for an independent investigation separate from any internal review ICE conducts on its own. That kind of request is common after enforcement shootings, since agencies often review their own use of force before any outside body does.
Austin has been a site of friction over immigration enforcement before, given Texas's large immigrant population and the state's active role in border and interior enforcement policy. As of Monday morning, ICE had not released a detailed statement beyond confirming that a shooting occurred during an agency operation.
Watch for whether ICE or the Department of Homeland Security releases body camera video, and whether local or federal authorities open a formal review of the shooting.
Who was shot in the Austin ICE incident?
Reporting identified the man as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, though officials have not confirmed his condition.
Is ICE investigating the shooting itself?
Agencies typically conduct an internal review after such incidents, which is why officials are calling for an independent investigation as well.