An ICE officer shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during a traffic stop in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, sparking protests at the scene and renewed scrutiny of immigration enforcement tactics across the United States.
The shooting occurred just before 1:00 p.m. local time. The victim, identified by his attorney as Garcés Perez, remains in serious but stable condition in hospital with a bullet in his back.
Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garcés Perez called his wife while "yelling in pain" from the hospital. She added that he was subsequently taken into ICE custody.
Austin's police chief confirmed that local officers were not involved in the shooting.
Dozens of protesters gathered at the scene shortly after the incident, some waving the flags of Mexico and Guatemala and carrying signs demanding that ICE leave Austin. Demonstrators gathered across the street from a blue Toyota Corolla that sustained damage to the passenger-side door, as ICE agents stood nearby.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said residents have a right to know what happened and "a right to feel safe in their city," speaking at a media briefing on Sunday. "They should know the truth," he said, adding that he was pleased the city would be involved in the investigation. Watson also noted that ICE operations have surged in Austin in recent weeks.
Texas Congressman Greg Casar, a Democrat, demanded a full and immediate independent investigation into the shooting and the release of body camera footage. He also called for "accountability for any ICE officer who broke the law."
The Austin shooting is the latest in a series of incidents drawing intense scrutiny to ICE. Houston resident Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed during an ICE traffic stop, despite not having been a target of any ICE investigation, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice charged an ICE agent with lying about the non-fatal shooting of a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota — a rare instance of the current Justice Department accusing a federal agent of breaking the law while on duty.
Democrats have called for reforms at the agency, including requiring immigration enforcement agents to wear body cameras and not conceal their faces. Activists have also argued that the administration has violated due process in carrying out its enforcement crackdown.
Florida Republican lawmaker Maria Elvira Salazar, who has previously spoken out against aspects of the immigration crackdown, released an advertisement earlier this week criticising the targeting and detention of individuals with no criminal record. Appearing on a Sunday news programme, she said she had since spoken to the president and believed he would keep the country on the right track. "He gets it more than anybody," she said.
The Trump administration has defended its immigration enforcement policies and tactics as necessary for public safety and to fulfil the president's campaign promise to secure the border and carry out mass deportations.
