Tragedy strikes, community answers

On Sunday afternoon, an ICE officer shot 28-year-old Venezuelan Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez in his back while he was delivering DoorDash orders. After a series of hospital visits and detentions, Garcés Pérez is currently being held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center with a bullet still in his back and a shattered clavicle, his attorney states. Garcés Pérez has since filed a habeas petition, delaying possible deportation until after a hearing Sept. 30.

The hospital serving Garcés Pérez was UT’s Dell Seton Medical Center, making this issue hit much closer to home.

“He was not even counseled in regard to his own care,” said Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens and one of the speakers during a press conference on Monday. “The doctors actually spoke to the immigration agents out of the room and did not speak with him about what happened to him, the extent of the injuries (and) any potential complications that would come of it.”

The Dell Seton Medical Center works in tandem with Dell Medical School, which receives $35 million annually in taxpayer dollars.

Many citizens have called for ICE’s transparency on the matter, sparking numerous protests in the hours following at the site of the incident, which Department of Public Safety troopers subsequently met with tear gas and physical attacks. Other protests arose in the days following, including one hosted by La Frontera Unida Monday night at the Capitol.

“(Protests) remind us that there is something to collective action and resisting the current administration and their attacks on the people,” said Daniel Ramirez, Austin SDS member and attendee of the protest. “It shows that people do care, people do want justice for Wilbur and organizations are in this fight for the long run.”

Many Austin representatives have voiced their concerns and called for an independent investigation of the shooting, including U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, senatorial candidate James Talarico and Mayor Kirk Watson. Additionally, Mayor Pre Tem Chito Vela and Council members Vanessa Fuentes and José Velásquez have since released a joint statement condemning ICE’s actions.

“We are disgusted by the continued recklessness and disregard for human life by this administration. ICE has never made our communities safer, and today is a tragic reminder of this fact,” the statement reads. “ICE must leave Austin now.”

This shooting comes in light of increased ICE presence in Austin and nearly 380 arrests by ICE every day in Texas, which is 100 more than the spring. For UT students, recent changes to F-1 and J-1 Duration of Status and F-1 Student Academic Mobility force many students to independently submit Extension of Stays. As of yet, no exact date has been confirmed for when these effects will go into place.

But this injustice isn’t limited by time nor circumstance. Garcés Pérez is one of many who have experienced similar tragedy, and the rest have the misfortune of going unreported.

“Had it not been for ordinary people like ourselves, our friends (and) neighbors doing extraordinary things by having a whistle in one hand and cell phone in the other … that’s essentially how we’ve learned about more details,” said Paul Saldaña, co-founder of Hispanic Advocates Business Leaders of Austin who was also present at the press conference. “The burden of proof is on the citizens and community.”

And this violence is not limited to a shooting.

“Every night you and I go to bed, 70,000 immigrants are in detention centers. The detentions and deportations do not stop because somebody gets shot or somebody gets killed,” Proaño said. “That’s over 70,000 people without medical care, (experiencing) sexual abuse (and) sexual assault. There’s a lot that’s happening that we don’t know about and don’t report enough of.”

While these issues may seem abstract, these ripples can be seen directly on campus. In April 2025, Trump’s administration revoked over 300 student visas, including two identified as UT students. More recently, UT has reached a pivotal point in the wake of COLA’s major consolidations, one being Mexican American and Latino/a Studies. 

“It’s the responsibility of organizations, not just (the ones that) align themselves with Hispanic or Latino identity, (but) truthfully all organizations that believe in having a safe environment, both on campus and the Austin community, to be active in fighting,” said Ryan Quiroz, history senior and co-cultural chair of Texas Fuego.

With nearly 8,000 international students and faculty at UT, these policies could affect fellow Longhorns.

Do not let the ruse of power lawmakers hold scare you. The most powerful tool we have is our ability to vote. Many of the voices representing you are on the ballot this November, including city council seats, governor and attorney general. We cannot fall complacent to Austin’s upheaval.

When tragedy strikes, the community must answer.

Lam is a computer science junior from Mansfield, Texas. She is the editor-in-chief.

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