Austin Justice and Labor Advocates Demand Action from Local Leaders Regarding the Shooting of Wilber Garces Rafael Perez and ICE Impunity in Texas

Press release

Sep 23

Austin, Texas – Today, more than a dozen local advocacy and grassroots organizations released the following statement regarding the shooting of 28-year-old Austin resident Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez by an ICE agent:

On September 20, 2026, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and seriously injured Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez in North Austin.

We are outraged at this shooting and the broader system of injustice that made this moment possible. We condemn ICE and their use of excessive force, lack of transparency and meaningful accountability, racial profiling and discriminatory enforcement, criminalization of immigrant communities, and enforcement practices that spread fear instead of creating safety.
Elected officials can no longer look away, nor can they continue to believe that reform alone will address these systemic harms. We must abolish ICE.
We, the undersigned groups, demand more of our elected leaders. If not now, when will you take a stand against authoritarianism, the militarization of our streets, and blatant disregard of human life? Nothing short of creating a meaningful pathway to citizenship for immigrants will suffice as reform, and, in the meantime, we demand elected officials use every tool at their disposal to bring an immediate end to the impunity and harm.
Mr. Garcés Pérez, his family, and our community deserve answers and a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into this reckless shooting. Accountability cannot come from a rogue agency investigating itself behind closed doors.
This unprecedented escalation of state-sanctioned violence against immigrants warrants immediate and aggressive action; as part of this, lawmakers must immediately begin undoing the decades of oppressive policy decisions that paved the way for these tactics on the federal, state, and local level. In the coming days we will share specific policy demands for a path forward. What follows here are our most urgent and pressing demands to ensure Mr. Garcés Pérez’s health and safety, the safety of Austin, and all immigrant communities.
Demands to ensure justice and safety for Wilber and all residents of Austin
We stand with Mr. Garcés Pérez, his family, and community members across Austin in demanding immediate action and accountability. We demand the following:
Release Wilber from ICE custody immediately, halt deportation proceedings, and ensure he has the medical care he needs and can participate in the investigation into his shooting.
Ensure truth, accountability, and justice for Wilber Pérez through an independent, local investigation led by Travis County District Attorney José Garza, not an internal review by ICE, Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers, or the Austin Police Department. We have no confidence in law enforcement officials who have gone above and beyond the requirements of the state to shield and assist with ICE operations.
Get ICE out of Austin.
Abolish ICE, claw back the $240 billion from the mass deportation agenda, and reinvest those dollars in our communities.
In Solidarity,
Austin Justice Coalition
AFSCME 1624
Austin DSA
Austin Sanctuary Network
Austin Young Active Labor Leaders
Children’s Defense Fund-Texas
Community Powered ATX
Education Austin
Equity Action
Grassroots Leadership
Hands Off Central Texas
Hays Unido
Indivisible Austin
Indivisible Rosedale Huddle
Kyle/Buda 50501
NNOC-TX (National Nurses Organizing Committee-TX)
NO ALPRs Coalition
Palestine Banner Team
Party for Socialism and Liberation
Socialist Horizon
Texas AFL-CIO Austin Central Labor Council
Texas Civil Rights Project
Texas Harm Reduction Alliance
Texas State Employees Union
United Professional Organizers
Undoing White Supremacy Austin
United Workers of Integral Care
VECINA
VOCAL-TX
Watermelon Anti-ICE Action
Workers Defense Action Fund