Daijiworld Media Network - Austin

Austin, Sep 22: A Venezuelan man shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a traffic stop in Austin said Monday that he remained in severe pain with a bullet lodged in his back and had not received the medical attention he needed.

Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, was shot early Sunday afternoon while making deliveries as a DoorDash driver. He is now being held in immigration custody at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas.

Speaking by phone during a news conference Monday, Garcés Pérez said he was shot near his clavicle and that doctors had not removed the bullet because it was close to his spine. He alleged that ICE pressured the hospital to release him into the agency's custody.

Garcés Pérez said he arrived at the detention centre at around 4 am and continued to experience pain. He said he did not receive medical treatment or pain medication at the facility until Monday morning, when he was given an unidentified pill. He also said he had to sleep on the floor in a cold room.

His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, lawmakers and immigration advocates have demanded his release, arguing that he was taken from the hospital into immigration custody within hours of the shooting while still carrying the bullet.

Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said Garcés Pérez was both a victim of the shooting and an important witness to the incident and should not be deported before the investigation is completed.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said Sunday that Garcés Pérez was in stable condition and federal custody pending his removal from the United States.

A senior administration official said Monday that Garcés Pérez had no criminal history apart from being in the country illegally.

However, Lincoln-Goldfinch said her client had entered the United States legally and was seeking asylum. According to the attorney, Garcés Pérez had informed the immigration court about a change of address, but a notice to appear was sent to his previous address. He subsequently missed the hearing and was ordered deported in absentia, she said.

Lincoln-Goldfinch also provided Garcés Pérez's account of the shooting. She said he was making a delivery when an unmarked black truck allegedly sideswiped his vehicle.

According to the attorney, Garcés Pérez did not know the vehicle belonged to ICE and made a U-turn under a highway. She alleged that the truck followed him, sideswiped his car again and agents then shot him before pulling him from the vehicle.

DHS had not immediately responded to requests for comment on the statements made during Monday's news conference or the attorney's earlier allegations.

Video verified by NBC News shows a blue sedan stopped near a dark-coloured SUV, followed by the sound of screeching tyres. At least three gunshots can be heard as a person approaches the sedan. Another video shows Garcés Pérez hunched over in the driver's seat, holding his upper chest, while several law enforcement officers surround the vehicle.

The footage shows officers removing him from the car and handcuffing him before making him sit on the ground. A large bloodstain is visible on his back, and officers cut open his shirt, revealing an apparent bullet wound.

A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson said the agency had received a request from ICE for assistance in a vehicle pursuit involving a blue Toyota Corolla.

Lincoln-Goldfinch said she and Garcés Pérez's wife went to the hospital after the shooting seeking information about his condition but were escorted from the premises. She alleged that officers told them he was not there and subsequently removed them from the hospital grounds.

DHS has not said whether the ICE officer involved was wearing a body camera or whether Garcés Pérez was the intended target of an immigration operation.

Austin police are investigating the shooting. Police Chief Lisa Davis said the investigation would be impartial and based on the evidence, while cautioning against drawing conclusions before the facts are established.

The shooting comes amid a sharp increase in immigration enforcement by ICE across the United States. The agency recorded more than 50,000 arrests a month for the first time in its history in July and August, according to NBC News.

The Austin shooting also follows two other fatal incidents involving ICE officers. In Houston, ICE officers fatally shot Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an attempted traffic stop two months ago. DHS said he was in the country illegally and had attempted to run over agents, but the agency has not publicly provided evidence supporting the claim.

About a week later, an ICE officer fatally shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during a traffic stop in Biddeford, Maine. Both men were reportedly not the intended targets of the respective immigration operations.