Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of effectively torturing a Venezuelan man who was shot by an agency officer in Austin, Texas, describing a sequence of events he said left the 28-year-old in excruciating pain without adequate medical care.
During an appearance Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” Castro told anchor Jake Tapper that the treatment of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez — who was shot in the back Sunday while working as a DoorDash delivery driver — amounted to a form of torture. The congressman’s remarks came after Austin police released video showing the moments following the shooting, according to Breitbart’s account of the broadcast.
What Castro Says Happened After the Shooting
Castro laid out a detailed timeline of what he said happened to Garces Perez after he was struck. The man was taken to a hospital, the congressman said, but was then transferred shortly afterward to an ICE processing center, where he was made to lie on the floor. According to Castro, he was not given pain medication or any other means of easing his discomfort.
From there, Castro said, Garces Perez was moved to a detention facility in Pearsall, Texas — which the congressman described as essentially a prison, noting it is a former prison. Castro said the man could not move the left side of his body and remained in severe pain, yet authorities continued to refuse to return him to a hospital.
It was only hours later, Castro said, that Garces Perez was finally taken back to a hospital. After that, he was returned once again to the ICE detention center, still without receiving the medication and treatment the congressman said he needed.
“That is basically torture,” Castro said.
The congressman added that a member of his staff had visited the ICE facility in Texas where Garces Perez was being held, and that he planned to see the man himself the following day.
A Warning About Funding
Castro went beyond the specific case to criticize how ICE operates more broadly, arguing that the agency is functioning in a “lawless” manner and should not expect Congress to keep bankrolling it at current levels.
“You can’t run an agency in this kind of lawless way and expect that the Congress is going to continue to give you billions and billions of dollars in the way that this Republican majority Congress has,” he said. “It’s not right. Again, this essentially amounts to a kind of torture.”
The comments reflect a widening fight over immigration enforcement funding and oversight, with the shooting in Austin giving critics of the agency a fresh and vivid case to cite. Tapper opened the segment by noting that the Austin Police Department had released video at a press conference in the hour before the broadcast. That footage, he said, showed the aftermath of the moment Garces Perez was shot in the back by an ICE agent while delivering for DoorDash on Sunday. The video, per Tapper’s description, showed the man getting out of a car, being placed in handcuffs, and an officer cutting off his shirt.
Tapper then asked Castro about his staffer’s visit to the facility and whether the congressman intended to see Garces Perez the next day, along with what new information Castro had learned.
Castro’s answer focused on the medical care — or lack of it — that Garces Perez received at each stop in the chain of custody.
The Broader Political Context
The exchange puts Castro, a prominent Democratic voice on immigration matters, at the center of an intensifying debate over ICE’s conduct and its budget. His characterization of the agency’s actions as torture is among the most pointed language a sitting member of Congress has used about a specific immigration enforcement incident.
Whether the case prompts any legislative action remains to be seen, but Castro’s framing made clear he intends to use it as an argument against continued funding increases. He tied the individual episode directly to the broader question of congressional appropriations, suggesting that the Republican majority’s support for the agency should be reconsidered in light of what he described as lawless conduct.
The Austin shooting and its aftermath are likely to draw further scrutiny in the coming days, particularly as more details emerge about Garces Perez’s condition and the decisions made by the agents and officials involved. Castro said he planned to visit him, which could yield additional public accounts of the man’s treatment.
For now, the congressman’s CNN appearance has added a sharp and specific allegation to a running national argument over how ICE carries out enforcement and how much leeway — and money — it should receive from Congress.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/09/22/joaquin-castro-lawless-ice-basically-torturing-people/