Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of the Diocese of Austin, Texas, said he was "deeply saddened and disturbed" by an ICE officer's shooting of a Venezuelan man in Austin, as federal officials described the encounter as an officer responding to the man's attempt to flee arrest.
In a letter dated Sept. 20, the day of the shooting, Garcia wrote that people in the city are "living in terror and fear because of the increased activity of ICE agents on our streets."
He asked for prayers for the man who was shot, his family, "all who have been involved and for our entire community," and for federal, state, and city authorities to be "transparent and honest about what occurred."
The New York Times reported that ICE agents were checking license plates in north Austin Sunday afternoon when they found a deportation order for Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, pulled him over and told him that he would be arrested. Garces Perez then drove away, according to the Times, and a short chase followed.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said ICE requested help about 12:50 p.m. with a vehicle pursuit of a blue Toyota Corolla. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said city police were not part of the ICE operation and that the shooting came before troopers arrived.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it is investigating, with FBI assistance, "the officer involved shooting of an illegal alien from Venezuela" who it said entered the country illegally and had a final order of removal.
DHS said the man's condition is stable and that he is in federal custody pending removal.
Video showed the Corolla and an unmarked Ford SUV stopped under a highway overpass when an officer approached the Toyota, which was moving slowly. Witnesses reported multiple shots. Garces Perez, who his family said was making a DoorDash delivery, was shot in the upper torso, treated at Dell Seton Medical Center, then transferred to ICE custody.
His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said at a news conference Monday that he is at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall. Garces Perez called his attorney during the conference, saying over speakerphone that a bullet remains near his spine, he is not receiving adequate medical care, and he slept on the floor at the facility.
"I'm not doing well because of the gunshot I received," he said in ?Spanish.
Lincoln-Goldfinch disputed that her client knowingly fled identified agents. She alleged that an unmarked vehicle sideswiped him, he did not know it was ICE, and officers shot him after another collision.
Lincoln-Goldfinch also said her client entered the country legally and had a work permit.
"Many people are often being detained only due to the color of their skin or the language they speak," Garcia wrote.
In a Sept. 22 statement to EWTN News , García said that in his diocese, he is hearing from clergy and parishioners of "specific instances" where people "have been detained as they are going about the ordinary responsibilities of daily life. When good, hardworking people become fearful that they may be targeted because of their ethnicity or appearance, we all have a responsibility to listen and to speak to the human reality that exists within our communities."
He told EWTN News he has dispensed those who are afraid from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, calling it an "extraordinary step."
"Regardless of a person's immigration status, every person is created in the image and likeness of God and possesses an inherent dignity that must always be respected and protected," Garcia said on Sept. 20. "We cannot allow differences of citizenship to diminish our recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human being."
During National Migration Week, he added, "we are all brothers and sisters. When one person is harmed, all of us are affected." He repeated the call for "comprehensive immigration reform" and "a viable immigration policy that respects the rule of law while recognizing the dignity of every person."
Neither ICE nor DHS responded to a request for comment from EWTN News in time for publication.
