Austin Council Member Vanessa Fuentes says local law enforcement should join the ICE shooting investigation
Vanessa FuentesAustin City Council Member for District 2
Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said ICE cannot investigate itself and that local law enforcement should be involved in the investigation of the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. She said she was joining her colleagues in asking for a full, thorough, independent investigation.
“ICE cannot investigate itself, and so it’s important that we have our local law enforcement agency involved in that investigation”
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should DHS lead the investigation of the ICE shooting of a delivery driver in Austin?
On September 20, 2026, according to Austin officials, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan DoorDash driver, in North Austin, Texas. DHS said Homeland Security Investigations, with FBI assistance, would lead the investigation and described him as an “illegal alien” with a final order of removal who is in federal custody pending removal. His attorney disputes that he entered illegally and says he has a valid work permit. Austin's mayor, Democratic members of Congress and the League of United Latin American Citizens question DHS's and ICE's credibility and have called for an independent investigation. Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican, repeated DHS's description of the man. On September 29, federal prosecutors charged him with assaulting and resisting a federal officer, and the U.S. Attorney's Office said ICE's Homeland Security Investigations is investigating that case.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
CBS Austin report on Council Member Fuentes's remarks after the September 20 ICE shooting. It quotes her call for an independent investigation with local law enforcement involved and her call on Congress to stop funding ICE.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Austin American-Statesman live coverage of Monday's news conference with Rep. Doggett, Rep. Casar, LULAC and the man's attorney.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
An ICE agent shot DoorDash driver Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in North Austin on September 20. DHS said Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the FBI, was leading the investigation.
After the quotation
In the same report Fuentes called on Congress to stop funding ICE. She also said the council needs access to information, evidence and witness interviews to understand what happened.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether DHS should lead the investigation of the shooting. Fuentes said ICE cannot investigate itself and that local law enforcement should be involved, and she joined her colleagues in asking for a full, thorough, independent investigation. That rejects an investigation led by the agency involved, so we labeled it Condemned.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
More from this case
Read the full caseTravis County DA Garza says the federal government has not shared evidence with Austin police on the ICE shooting
“So far, the information has been flowing from the Austin Police Department to federal law enforcement officials, and as we sit here today, three days away from this shooting, it is incredibly important that the information start to flow both ways To my knowledge, at this point, the federal government has not shared any evidence with the Austin Police Department, and importantly, has not responded to a request from the Austin Police Department to be able to participate in or be allowed to interview the ICE agent who discharged his weapon here in Travis County this past Sunday”Read statement
Castro calls for an independent investigation of the Austin ICE shooting
“There must be an independent investigation, and the ICE officers who shot Wilber in the back should be held accountable.”Read statement
Doggett calls for ICE to release any available body-camera footage
“We don’t know enough because ICE as usual is not providing the facts. They should’ve already released any body camera footage that they had.”Read statement
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- Austin Council Member Vanessa Fuentes says local law enforcement should join the ICE shooting investigation
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The Dispute Index. "Austin Council Member Vanessa Fuentes says local law enforcement should join the ICE shooting investigation". First published: 2026-09-30. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/3426-austin-city-council-member-vanessa-fuentes-said-ice