Kirk Watson is the mayor of Austin, Texas.
Case
DHS says its Homeland Security Investigations will lead the inquiry into an ICE officer's shooting of a Venezuelan delivery driver in Austin. Austin's mayor, Democratic lawmakers and LULAC call for independent investigation; the man's attorney disputes DHS's account.
Role at the time: Mayor of Austin, in a statement posted on X and Facebook
Statement summary
Watson said that, given the rogue nature of ICE and the chaos he says ICE is fomenting, there is no reason to be surprised, that Austinites have a right to know what happened, and that, although Austin police were not involved, there needs to be an investigation that APD assures is clear-eyed, as complete as possible, and independent.
“With the rogue nature of ICE and the chaos we’re seeing fomented by ICE, there’s no reason to be surprised. Austinites have a right to know what happened and they have a right to feel safe in their community. Though APD was not involved in the shooting, I believe that there needs to be an investigation that APD assures is clear-eyed, as complete as possible, and independent.”
Relative to DHS's decision to have its own component lead the investigation, Watson criticizes ICE's conduct and insists on an investigation that Austin police can assure is independent; in remarks to reporters he said an ICE-only investigation would not be appropriate. Closest competing label: mixed_or_conditional loses because the request is a rejection of ICE-only control, not a conditional acceptance.
Statement dates: September 20, 2026
Statement dates: September 20, 2026
Statement dates: September 20, 2026
Statement dates: September 20, 2026
