CAIR says the Austin ICE shooting was the foreseeable result of militarized raids
Council on American-Islamic RelationsNational civil rights and advocacy organization, in a press release issued with its Austin office
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a press release that it wants a full, transparent and independent investigation of the Austin shooting, which it called the foreseeable consequence of reckless and militarized nationwide immigration raids. It asked why the administration's enforcement strategy keeps producing fear, trauma and deadly encounters.
“We call for a full, transparent, and independent investigation into this latest shooting, which is the foreseeable consequence of a White House’s nation-wide immigration raids that are reckless and militarized. Just months after Renée Good, an American citizen, was killed during an ICE operation in Minnesota, another family is demanding answers. If the administration’s goal is public safety, it must explain why its enforcement strategy continues to produce fear, trauma, and deadly encounters instead.”
Official statement
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.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Press release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and its Austin office, published September 23, 2026, three days after the shooting. It includes statements from CAIR-Austin's director and from the national organization.
Before the quotation
On September 20, an ICE officer shot a man during a federal immigration enforcement operation near Research Boulevard and Anderson Square in North Austin. Austin police said their officers were not involved, and federal authorities announced their own investigation.
After the quotation
The same release quoted Shaimaa Zayan, director of CAIR-Austin, who said every person deserves protection from unjustified use of force. CAIR-Austin also listed five requests, including that the Austin Police Department lead an independent criminal investigation and that ICE cooperate with local authorities.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether ICE's use of force in the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was justified. CAIR's release says the organization condemned the shooting, and its statement calls the shooting the foreseeable result of reckless and militarized immigration raids. That criticizes the conduct under scrutiny and goes beyond a request about who should investigate, so we used the Condemned label.
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The Dispute Index. "CAIR says the Austin ICE shooting was the foreseeable result of militarized raids". First published: 2026-09-30. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/3435-the-council-on-american-islamic-relations-cair-said