Man shot by ICE in Austin being held in detention center with bullet in his back, lawyer says

September 21, 2026 / 6:35 PM EDT / CBS News

A Venezuelan man who was shot by an immigration officer while delivering a DoorDash order in Austin, Texas, was transferred from the hospital to a detention center with a bullet still in his back, his lawyer said Monday.

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was shot in the back by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer after the officer sideswiped the 28-year-old's car early Sunday afternoon, attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch told reporters at a Monday news conference. Garces Perez was then taken to the hospital, and his family was notified four hours later that he had been taken to the South Texas Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas, approximately a two-hour drive away from Austin, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.

Garces Perez spoke by phone during the news conference, saying in Spanish that he was in a lot of pain. He explained that the bullet wasn't removed because it was lodged close to his spine.

"I am not doing well, and I am not receiving the medical attention that I require," Garces Perez said, adding that he's being held in a cold room with no bed.

Lincoln-Goldfinch said her client also doesn't have access to pain medication…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/