Siegel calls the Austin ICE shooting an apparent crime and asks that the officer be detained

Mike SiegelAustin City Council member

Condemned

Austin City Council member Mike Siegel said he was disgusted and enraged that ICE had shot a civilian six blocks from his home. He described what he had learned from witnesses at the scene and asked the state Department of Public Safety or Austin police to detain the ICE officer immediately.

“I’m disgusted and enraged that ICE has shot yet another civilian, this time right here in our own community. The shooting occurred six blocks from my home, and I came to the scene as soon as I got a call from Chief Davis alerting me. From speaking with witnesses and my own observations at the scene, I’ve learned at least five shots were fired, and that there were two bullet holes in the rear passenger window. The driver was taken to the hospital. I was told that an ICE Ford Expedition rammed into the side of a small Toyota sedan. An ICE officer got out of the vehicle and fired through the rear passenger window. For several hours following the shooting, federal officers and state police prevented local police from conducting a crime scene investigation. As a city official, my priority is that this apparent crime is fully and fairly investigated. We must ensure this ICE agent is not allowed to leave the state of Texas and evade accountability, as has occurred with other shootings across the country. We demand either DPS or APD detain the ICE officer in question, and that this be done immediately to avoid a flight from justice.”

Reporting

Open source (opens in a new tab)ICE shooting in North Austin: Texas leaders reactStatements section: Travis County District Attorney, Mayor Watson, Rep. Casar

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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

Where this statement fits

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

On September 20, 2026, an ICE officer shot and wounded Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national working as a DoorDash driver, during an immigration enforcement operation in North Austin, Texas. He was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center in serious but stable condition and later transferred into ICE custody. Garces Perez says an unmarked SUV struck his vehicle before he realized the people pursuing him were immigration officers, that he asked an agent if he could stop somewhere safer than under a freeway overpass, and that he was shot after the agent refused. On September 29, federal prosecutors charged him with assaulting and resisting a federal officer. In a sworn affidavit, they say he refused commands to get out of his car and drove off, hitting an officer with his side mirror, and that after a brief chase one officer says Garces Perez tried to hit him with the car, and the officer fired. DHS has confirmed the shooting and said Garces Perez was subject to a final removal order. The dispute is whether the use of force against him was justified.

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Source and context

Reporting

ICE shooting in North Austin: Texas leaders react (opens in a new tab)Statements section: Travis County District Attorney, Mayor Watson, Rep. Casar

About this source

Roundup that reproduces the full text of statements from Mayor Watson, the Travis County District Attorney, Rep. Casar and others on the day of the shooting.

Before the quotation

An ICE agent shot a man in the 8000 block of Anderson Square in North Austin on the afternoon of September 20, 2026. Siegel said he went to the scene after the Austin police chief alerted him.

After the quotation

Fox 7 reported that at a 4 p.m. news conference on September 20 the police chief said she had heard there was a brief foot pursuit but that the information was preliminary.

How this statement is classified

Condemned

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

Why this label?

The case asks whether the ICE officer's use of force against Garces Perez was justified. Siegel said he was disgusted and enraged that ICE had shot a civilian, called the shooting an apparent crime, and asked that the officer be detained immediately. That rejects the conduct under scrutiny, so we labeled it Condemned.

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Siegel calls the Austin ICE shooting an apparent crime and asks that the officer be detained
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The Dispute Index. "Siegel calls the Austin ICE shooting an apparent crime and asks that the officer be detained". First published: 2026-09-30. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/3433-austin-city-council-member-mike-siegel-said-he