A US judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of a Venezuelan man who was shot by immigration agents in Texas, his lawyer says.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, is being held in a detention centre with a bullet in his back, according to his lawyer. Judge Orlando Garcia, a Clinton appointee, scheduled a hearing for Garces Perez to appear in court in person next week.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that an “illegal alien” had been the subject of a targeted vehicle stop but pushed back against suggestions he had been given inadequate medical care.
The incident comes months after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot a man in Houston.
Garces Perez’s immigration lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, has filed a federal lawsuit for a temporary restraining order to prevent his removal from the country. Since the judge ordered that her client appear in person on 30 September, he cannot be deported before then, she said.
“For now, we have secured a temporary block on his deportation while his case moves forward,” Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote on social media.
“This is an important step, but our work is not over,” she wrote. “Wilber still needs appropriate medical care, and we will continue fighting to protect his rights.”
The gunshot fractured his clavicle and he is wearing a sling while having “significant swelling and pain,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
The cause or extent of the loss of movement he experienced has not yet been determined, she said.
A spokesperson for US Attorney’s Office in Texas declined to comment on the case.
On Tuesday, DHS pushed back against what it called “false narratives” surrounding what had happened, blaming sanctuary cities and media for “spreading lies” and discouraging people from resisting officers and evading arrest.
“Contrary to their claims, this person is an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here and has been given some of the best medical care he’s ever received in his life,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin in a statement to the BBC.
DHS said the man, whom they did not name, was “the subject of a targeted vehicle stop” and that his work permit expired last year.
“No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job by removing dangerous illegal aliens from our communities and making America safe again,” Mullin said.
The Austin Police Department, which was not involved in the incident, released dashcam and body camera footage on Tuesday showing its officers at the scene.
It does not show the shooting, but several gunshots can be heard in one dashcam clip, while another shows officers approaching Garces Perez’s car and detaining him. At one point, Garces Perez’s t-shirt is cut to reveal what appears to be a single gunshot in his back.
Lincoln-Goldfinch previously told the BBC that after being unable to move his arm in the detention facility, Garces Perez was taken back to hospital on Monday evening. He was treated there and has since been returned to the detention facility.
He said he was handcuffed, shackled at the ankles, placed in a waist chain, and handled roughly during his transfer, despite his injury, she said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch added that detention personnel had revoked his communication privileges and moved him from an infirmary into an isolated room with a flat, non-adjustable bed.
In its statement on Tuesday, DHS said Garces Perez had received medical care “around the clock” and denied claims he received no pain medication and was forced to sleep on the floor.
“This alien was released from the hospital and arrived at the detention facility just a few hours later, where he slept on a bed,” DHS said.
Texas lawmaker Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, on Tuesday demanded the Venezuelan national’s release from detention.
Local and state officials have pushed for an independent investigation into the shooting, which occurred just before on Sunday afternoon.
Hours later, dozens of protesters, some waving the flags of Mexico and Guatemala, gathered at the scene carrying signs demanding that ICE leave the city.
DHS said on Tuesday that ICE “will not be slowing down nor leaving Austin”.
The man’s lawyer told US media he was making a DoorDash delivery when an unmarked black truck sideswiped his car.
He did not know the truck was an ICE vehicle and made a U-turn, she said. His car was hit again before agents got out and shot him, according to the attorney.
By BBC News
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
