A US judge has temporarily stopped immigration authorities from deporting a DoorDash driver who was shot by an ICE agent in Austin, Texas.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was shot on Sunday while working as a delivery driver. The Venezuelan national was later taken into ICE custody.
Now, a federal judge has ordered authorities to keep him in the country until at least September 30, when he is due to appear in court.
Perez’s lawyer says the bullet is still lodged near his spine and that he was taken back to hospital after losing feeling on the left side of his body. He was later returned to an immigration detention facility in Pearsall.
His treatment there has become another point of dispute. His attorney says Perez is being kept in isolation and has only been given Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain. The Department of Homeland Security says he is receiving medical care around the clock.
There are also conflicting accounts of what happened before the shooting. Perez says ICE agents hit his car with an unmarked vehicle before an officer shot him while he was still inside.
Austin police have said they found no evidence that Perez ran from officers on foot.
The ICE agent who shot him was not wearing a body camera. The Travis County district attorney has also asked federal authorities not to deport Perez while the shooting is being investigated, saying he could be needed as a witness if the case leads to criminal charges.
