Sept 22 (Reuters) – A Venezuelan man shot by a federal immigration agent in Austin, Texas, who spent the night in ICE detention with a bullet lodged in his back, is being treated at a hospital for paralysis on his left side, according to his lawyer.
The man, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, “was taken back to another hospital to receive treatment regarding paralysis in his left side,” attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said on her social media accounts late on Monday.
Lincoln-Goldfinch added that she would visit him first thing on Tuesday morning.
During a news conference on Monday, Lincoln-Goldfinch introduced a man who phoned in as Perez, who said he had been transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility about 130 miles southwest of Austin on Sunday after a few hours in the hospital following the shooting.
On the Monday call, Perez, 28, said that he was still bleeding and was not receiving adequate medical care.
“I’m not doing well because of the gunshot I received,” he said in Spanish. He added that he had to sleep on the floor at the detention center but did not explain.
He said he had been out working as a DoorDash food delivery driver on Sunday when his car was sideswiped by the agents, who he said did not identify themselves or turn on any sort of lights or siren.
Perez said that an agent shot him while he was still in his car and that there had been no foot chase. Austin police said on Sunday that he had run from agents.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday requested that the Department of Homeland Security halt removal proceedings against Perez while the investigation into his shooting continued, saying his ability to participate as a material witness would be “severely hindered” if he were deported.
DHS did not respond to requests for comment on Monday or Tuesday. DHS on Sunday released a written statement saying that Perez was in the US illegally and that he had a final order of removal from the country. It did not provide details on the circumstances of the shooting.
(Reporting by Julia Harte and Brad Brooks; editing by Donna Bryson, Franklin Paul and Cynthia Osterman)
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