ALTON, Texas — U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has pressed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership for body camera footage and details regarding recent agency encounters in Alamo and Austin, warning that broad enforcement sweeps undermine border security efforts.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was shot by a federal immigration officer in North Austin.
Speaking at a press conference in Alton, the Laredo Democrat—who serves as ranking member of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee—detailed formal inquiries submitted to ICE regarding an incident in Alamo involving two young residents and their mother, as well as an ICE officer-involved shooting over the weekend in Austin.
"I asked, for example, did they have cameras there?" Cuellar told reporters. "After the shooting, we asked if ICE administered aid when the individual was taken to the hospital... Who made the decision to discharge? Is it okay to have somebody who had a bullet in his body be sent to a detention center?"
Regarding the Alamo encounter, Cuellar confirmed that ICE verified agents were wearing body cameras during a targeted stop. However, questions remain after agents deactivated the recording equipment upon returning to their vehicle before turning it back on during the confrontation with two local youths.
Cuellar also raised serious concerns over the rapid deportation of the youth's mother to Mexico shortly after the incident.
"I am concerned about the way they moved on the mother," Cuellar stated. "Why they had to move on this so quickly are questions that we certainly want to get to."
Later, Cuellar issued a statement about the ICE shooting. He said:
"Since Sunday’s ICE-related shooting in Austin, Texas, I immediately began working with my subcommittee to find answers as Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, including whether or not the agent involved was wearing a body worn camera – technology I advocated for when finalizing the DHS appropriations bill for 2026.
It is unfortunate that we are still awaiting clarification from ICE given the recent public reporting that the shooting involves a new recruit and was not using a body camera, despite clear instruction and funding from Congress as well as prior confirmation from ICE that body cameras had been deployed to all ICE agents in Texas. We have also asked several questions about the agencies involved in this investigation and the role they will play, confirmation on whether the agent(s) involved will remain in Texas for the duration of the investigation as well as their current duty status, why Mr. Perez was moved to a detention facility with a bullet remaining in their body, and the future outlook of procuring dashboard cameras as well as justification for the prioritization of non-criminals for deportation.
Further, I have been equally engaged in the on-camera assault on two U.S. citizen teenagers by ICE agents in Alamo, TX as well as the recent deportation of Teresa de Jesus Ochoa Briseno. We are awaiting further clarification from ICE on the events of that day and if and when the agent’s body-worn camera footage may be released to Congress."
The press conference followed a roundtable discussion hosted by Cuellar featuring the acting ICE director and local faith leaders from Starr and Webb counties, including representatives from the Assembly of God and the Catholic Diocese of Laredo. The meeting addressed recent enforcement actions targeting religious personnel, such as Sister Leticia and local pastors.
Cuellar highlighted bureaucratic backlogs in processing R-1 religious worker visas through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as a primary catalyst for ICE interventions.
"While there's a backlog, there might be a gap, and when there's a gap, then ICE will move forward," Cuellar explained, promising to appropriate additional funding to clear USCIS backlogs so religious leaders do not suffer status lapses.
Looking toward fiscal policy and potential shifts in House control, Cuellar outlined structural changes he plans to write into the Homeland Security base bill should he assume the chairmanship:
"When the numbers went down 96 percent under the previous administration, it was because of policy change and repercussions at the border," Cuellar stressed. "We did it without a single foot of border wall construction. What we need is the right policy and monies for technology, drones, and personnel at the border itself."
Congressman Greg Casar of Austin represents the district Garces Perez livex in. He visited him at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, three days after Garces Perez was shot by a federal immigration officer in North Austin. Staff members from the office of Congressman Joaquin Castro of San Antonio joined the visit.
Casar reported that Garces Perez saw a specialist and the specialist said he needs surgery to remove the bullet still lodged in his body.
Casar inspected the wound where the bullet entered Garces Perez's back, just below his neck, and saw heavy bruising across his chest. Garces Perez told Casar the following:
“I saw the conditions of Wilber’s injuries, and just like anybody that had been shot three days ago, he needs a doctor — not a deportation or a detention center,” Casar said. “My message to ICE is very clear: release Wilber from detention to get him the medical care he desperately needs.”
Casar called for a full, transparent investigation into the shooting by local, state, and federal law enforcement. The agents from the shooting scene are scheduled to be interviewed tomorrow, and local law enforcement has requested to be included. That request has not been fulfilled, and Casar called for the federal government to cooperate fully with local law enforcement.
Casar also called for the release of body camera and dash camera footage and answers on why Garces Perez was removed from the hospital. Casar has also requested a briefing from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin by Monday, September 28.
Congressman Castro issued the following statement:
"My apologies for not being with you today. An hours-long flight delay kept me from joining Congressman Casar in visiting Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez. As the Congressman for Austin, Wilber's home, Greg's unyielding pursuit of truth and justice in this matter has been admirable. Thank you, Congressman, for that work.
“ICE's treatment of Wilber thus far has amounted to torture. That is not an exaggeration in this case. After being shot in the back and handcuffed without first aid, he was allowed to stay in the hospital for only a few hours before being taken to a detention center while in excruciating pain and made to lie on the floor. The medical facilities at the South Texas ICE Processing Center (STIPC) in Pearsall are not equipped to handle a patient who has experienced that kind of trauma. ICE knew this but took him there anyway. It got so bad that he had to be taken back to the hospital, but again he was allowed to remain only hours before being returned to STIPC. He told ICE agents about his excruciating pain and told them that he could no longer move the left side of his body. Yet they let him suffer with their bullet still in his body.
“This immigrant man, a Venezuelan, fled a regime that President Trump himself declared a terrorist one, just as millions of Venezuelans have fled over the past several years. He had permission to enter the United States and to work. And that's what he was doing when ICE shot him in the back, delivering food for DoorDash to support himself and his family. In fact, he told my staff that he had been working in the area for quite some time and that all the restaurants in the area know him. He also asked my staff to tell his wife and mother that he was doing okay, as not to worry them. This is who ICE is targeting.
“ICE has shot and killed people before, including U.S. citizens, and lied about it. They have discredited themselves. There must be an independent investigation, and the ICE officers who shot Wilber in the back should be held accountable. Finally, this system known as ICE, which has allowed a man to be tortured, should be disbanded.”
