At Campos Law Firm, we closely monitor developments in U.S. immigration policy to protect our clients’ rights and future. On the night of Monday, September 21, 2026, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez — the 28-year-old Venezuelan man shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Austin — was taken back to a hospital from the Pearsall detention center in South Texas.
Here is what has changed since Sunday, and what this case teaches about orders entered in absentia.
What has happened since Sunday?
Garces Perez was shot on Sunday, September 20, and treated at Dell Seton Medical Center. Doctors did not remove the bullet because it is lodged near his spine. He was discharged that same night and transferred to the ICE processing center in Pearsall, about two hours southwest of Austin.
According to his attorney, he received no pain medication or treatment there and slept on a cell floor after a pre-dawn transfer; on Monday he was given a single pill. That same night he was returned to a hospital.
In his own account, an unmarked SUV struck his vehicle twice before he understood that immigration officers were trying to stop him. When lights and sirens finally came on, he says he asked to pull over somewhere safer and was not allowed to; then he felt the impact in his back.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that he is unlawfully present with a final order of removal, and confirmed that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the shooting with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It has not responded publicly to the complaints about medical care.
He entered through CBP One and held a work permit
This is the detail that reframes the case, and the one our clients ask about most.
According to his legal representation, Garces Perez entered the United States lawfully in 2024 through a CBP One appointment, his asylum application was processed, and he obtained a valid work permit. The deportation order came later, when he missed an immigration court hearing because notice was sent to a previous address. An immigration judge entered the order without his knowledge.
Those two facts sit badly together in a headline, but legally they can both be true at once: a person can hold a work permit issued at the time and still have a removal order entered in absentia.
What is an in absentia order, and can it be reopened?
Un in absentia order is what an immigration judge enters when a person does not appear for their hearing. It is final and enforceable — which is why ICE can detain someone who never knew they had lost a case.
The law provides a way back. Where the person shows they did not receive the notice the statute requires, a motion to reopen for lack of notice may be filed at any time, without the deadline that applies to other grounds. If the absence was due to exceptional circumstances, the window is far shorter. Filing a motion to reopen also generally stays the removal while it is pending, though not in every scenario.
None of this is automatic or a guarantee of any outcome: it depends on what the record says, what address it reflects, and what evidence can be gathered.
What can you check in your own case today?
- Confirm your address with the court: changes are reported to the immigration court on Form EOIR-33 within five business days of moving.
- And with USCIS too: Form AR-11 is filed within 10 days. They are separate filings, and one does not replace the other.
- Check for hearings or an existing order: the EOIR automated case line and the court portal let you confirm this with your A-number before an enforcement operation does.
- A work permit is not a shield: holding a valid document does not erase a prior order or prevent a detention.
- If detention is involved, act the same day: medical care, transfers, and filing deadlines all run at once.
Protege tu situación migratoria con el bufete de abogados Campos
An envelope sent to an old address can cost years of a life you built. Our team reviews what your file actually says, confirms whether an order exists that you never knew about, and evaluates whether the case supports a motion to reopen or a stay. As Attorney Alejandra Campos, founder of Campos Law Firm, reminds our clients, having the right information is your best tool.
No dejes tu situación migratoria al azar. Llámanos hoy mismo al +1 (844) 922-6767 para concertar una consulta gratuita y confidencial en inglés o en español. Bufete de Abogados Campos: soluciones jurídicas en todas las áreas del derecho.
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