Padilla says the Garces Perez shooting should not have happened

Member of the United States Congress

“ICE can’t keep shooting people in our communities without any consequences. I’m calling for an independent and transparent investigation because this should have never happened to 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a DoorDash driver who was trying to make a delivery.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Sen. Alex Padilla calls for an independent investigation of the Garces Perez shooting · Alex PadillaFull X post, published September 21, 2026 at 9:18 p.m. UTC

Source and context

Original post

Sen. Alex Padilla calls for an independent investigation of the Garces Perez shooting (opens in a new tab) · Alex PadillaFull X post, published September 21, 2026 at 9:18 p.m. UTC

About this source

In a direct post, Sen. Alex Padilla called for an independent and transparent investigation into the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez and said it should not have happened.

Before the quotation

The statement followed the September 20 shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez by an ICE officer in Austin.

After the quotation

The post is the speaker’s assessment of the use of force and does not independently resolve the disputed account of the shooting.

How this statement is classified

Condemned

Case context: Should ICE's use of force in the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez be condemned or condoned?

The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.

Why this label?

On whether ICE's use of force should be condemned or condoned, Padilla directly condemns it: he says ICE "can’t keep shooting people in our communities without any consequences" and that the shooting "should have never happened" — an express evaluation that the force used was wrongful, not merely a process complaint.

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People and groups discussed
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Reporters and advocates gather at the Austin press conference where Wilber Rafael Garces Perez spoke by phone from ICE detention.
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune

More from this case

Read the full case

James Talarico

“Wilber came to this country legally. He has no criminal record. An ICE agent shot him anyway. He slept on a prison cell floor with a bullet still lodged in his back. He can't move the left side of his body. This isn't law enforcement. It's lawlessness.”
Read statement

Joaquin Castro

“An ICE agent shot Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez in Austin on Sunday. Instead of receiving medical care, he was sent to an ICE prison. No pain medicine, made to sleep on the floor, and threatened with deportation. Under Trump, ICE has become rogue, lawless, and deadly.”
Read statement

Ro Khanna

“ICE shot a DoorDash driver in the back in Austin. Instead of taking him to the hospital, they carted him off to a detention center with the bullet still in his back. No one should be shot in the back and denied urgent medical care. The shooting of Venezuelan delivery driver Wilber Garcés Pérez by ICE in Austin demands a full investigation. Abolish ICE. Prosecute rogue agents.”
Read statement