ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Texas as locals demand answers
Protests broke out after a Venezuelan man was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound in his torso.
ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Texas as locals demand answers
In January, hundreds of protesters gathered in Austin, the Texas capital, to demonstrate against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Protesters assembled in Austin, Texas, after local officials said an ICE agent shot and wounded a man in the state capital.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, was shot in the torso and taken to hospital, his lawyer told US media.
Local officials are pressing federal authorities for answers and said they could not determine whether he was an ICE target. The mayor and police have called for an independent investigation, and the shooting comes months after an ICE officer shot dead a man in Houston, Texas.
Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch told CBS that Garces Perez phoned his wife while "yelling in pain" from hospital. She told National Public Radio that he was in ICE custody.
The shooting in Austin on Sunday happened just before 1300 local time, though few details have been released. Dozens of protesters, some carrying the flags of Mexico and Guatemala, have since gathered at the site with signs calling for ICE to leave Austin.
Local television footage showed demonstrators gathering across the street from a blue Toyota Corolla that sustained damage to the passenger-side door, while ICE agents stood nearby, Reuters news agency reported.
Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said during a media briefing on Sunday that Austinites have a right to know what happened and "a right to feel safe in their city".
"They should know the truth" he said, adding that he was glad the city would also take part in the investigation.
He said ICE operations have increased in Austin in recent weeks. ICE has come under heavy scrutiny after several deadly shootings, including the death of Houston resident Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. According to DHS, Salgado Araujo was not the target of an ICE investigation but was shot during an ICE traffic stop.
Texas Congressman Greg Casar, a Democrat, has called for a full and immediate independent investigation and for body camera footage to be released. He also demanded "accountability for any ICE officer who broke the law".
The Austin Police Department confirmed to a local CBS News affiliate that the victim was injured and taken to hospital. No Austin police officer was involved in the shooting.
The Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement efforts and arrests during Trump's second term, prompting unrest in several US cities.
The administration has defended its policies and the agency's disputed tactics as needed for public safety and to carry out Trump's mass deportation mandate.
But rights activists say the administration has violated free speech and due process rights, and Democrats have called for reforms at the agency, including requiring immigration enforcement agents to wear body cameras and banning them from concealing their faces during operations.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice charged an ICE agent with lying about the non-fatal shooting of a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota, a rare case in which the current justice department accused a federal agent of breaking the law on the job.
Salazar appeared on the CBS programme Face the Nation on Sunday and said that she has since spoken to the president and believes he will keep the country on the right track.
"He gets it more than anybody," she said.