The national headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Austin office (CAIR-Austin) today condemned the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez (28) by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in North Austin on Sunday Sep. 20th and called for a fully independent and transparent investigation led by the Austin Police Department (APD) as well as the overdue reformation of ICE.
On September 20, an ICE officer shot a man during a federal immigration enforcement operation near Research Boulevard and Anderson Square in North Austin. The man, identified by his attorney as a Venezuelan 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez and working as a food delivery driver, was transported to a hospital with a gunshot wound and was reported to be in serious but stable condition. He was lately released and kept in ICE custody. APD has stated that its officers were not involved in the shooting. APD’s Special Investigations Unit was deployed to the scene, while federal authorities have also announced their own investigation.
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In a statement, Shaimaa Zayan, Director of CAIR-Austin, said:
“Regardless of a person’s immigration status, nationality, or the circumstances that brought them into contact with law enforcement, every human being deserves due process, humane treatment, and protection from unjustified use of force.
“CAIR-Austin receives cases where documented members of our community have been wrongfully targeted and detained by ICE officers based on their faith, ethnicity, or perceived immigration status. This happens in Austin where one third of the minors were born to at least one immigrant parent. The harm of this shooting incident extends far beyond. It reaches families and neighborhoods; it minimizes the sense of safety our community deserves.
“Accountability cannot be optional. Government exists to protect the people it serves, not to make them live in fear of those sworn to uphold the law. Our community deserves transparency, dignity, due process, and equal protection under the law.”
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said:
“We call for a full, transparent, and independent investigation into this latest shooting, which is the foreseeable consequence of a White House’s nation-wide immigration raids that are reckless and militarized. Just months after Renée Good, an American citizen, was killed during an ICE operation in Minnesota, another family is demanding answers. If the administration’s goal is public safety, it must explain why its enforcement strategy continues to produce fear, trauma, and deadly encounters instead.”
CAIR-Austin Calls on APD to Ensure an Independent Investigation
CAIR-Austin calls on the Austin Police Department to formally lead and ensure an independent criminal investigation into the shooting, in coordination with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and appropriate state authorities.
Specifically, CAIR-Austin calls for:
- A complete and independent investigation into the circumstances leading to the shooting and the use of force by the ICE officer;
- Preservation and disclosure of all available evidence, including body-camera footage, witness statements, radio communications, and other relevant records, consistent with applicable law;
- Full cooperation by ICE and federal authorities with APD and the Travis County District Attorney;
- Accountability for any violations of federal, state, or local law established through the investigation; and
- Protection of the rights and safety of the injured individual and his family, including timely information regarding his condition and access to his legal representation.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-Austin Director, Shaimaa Zayan, 512-785-7105, [email protected]; Director of CAIR Government Affairs Department, Robert McCaw, [email protected]