Austin ICE shooting: Rep. Greg Casar voices outrage over incident

AUSTIN, Texas - Emotions are still running hot following Sunday's North Austin shooting involving an ICE agent. 

Congressman Greg Casar was among those who continued to express anger and outrage about the incident. His Republican challenger, Lauren Pena, spoke about what she heard the congressman say.

Austin ICE shooting 

The backstory:

On Monday, 28-year-old Wilbur Garces Perez described what happened.

Perez said on Sunday, Sept. 20, he was driving on Anderson Lane to make a DoorDash delivery when an SUV drove next to him and tried to hit him. He said he believed it was an aggressive driver.

Once Perez realized the other driver was with ICE, he said he asked the ICE officer if he could pull over so they could detain him. Perez said the officers refused and sideswiped his vehicle. That’s when Perez said he made a U-turn to find a place to park, so he could go with them.

From that point, Perez said, the officers ran into him and shot him.

In a statement posted on X, DHS noted that Garces Perez is an undocumented immigrant who entered during the Biden administration, and had a final order for removal.

Challenger Lauren Pena reacts to Rep. Greg Casar 

The other side:

Congressman Greg Cesar spoke at a press conference on Monday and continued to express anger and outrage about the ICE shooting. His republican challenger in the upcoming midterm election spoke to FOX 7 about that response.

"I'm really ashamed that my opponent went and took to inciting and having people come out," said Lauren Pena.

Pena watched Casar at the Sunday City Hall news conference when Mayor Kirk Watson said he was angry about the shooting, and Casar joined the mayor in expressing his own outrage. 

"One of the things that we want, obviously, is transparency. But my opponent was also one who fought to defund the police. He also fought Congress getting more money for ICE agents. And so if there is body cam footage there, I am not sure. The reason being is because my opponent fought to make sure they weren't funded," said Pena.

Rep. Greg Casar condemns Austin ICE shooting

What they're saying:

On Monday, Casar was back in front of the cameras during a news conference called by LULAC. He continued to condemn federal authorities.

"I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican, we all believe the federal government should not be allowed to shoot you. And then you disappear from the country so that no one can be held responsible. That is deeply un-American, and we're not going to let it happen," said Congressman Casar.

Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI are currently leading the review. 

Casar wants local authorities to be included in the investigation. 

Casar and Pena speak on Homeland Security

Big picture view:

Casar also talked about the upcoming midterm election, and changes to Homeland Security he will push for if re-elected.

"We should take our billions of dollars in taxpayer money and give it back to everyday working-class families instead of this out-of-control agent. And then we should pass a pathway to legal status and to citizenship for the millions of people who work in this community so that no president and no political party could ever do anything like this ever again," said Casar.

Pena responded by noting how taxpayer money is already going to programs that help undocumented immigrants.

"We have the city of Austin, who next week, is just going to vote on a hundred thousand-something dollars to offer services to these folks. And I think we need to take care of our neighbors here in the city of Austin before we open our doors to other neighbors. We need to fix this system before we bring more people in," said Pena.

Dig deeper:

Casar and Watson claim the shooting by ICE is another example of an agency out of control and being too aggressive. Pena said she is willing to wait for the investigation to run its course.

"I can say that over 50% of the United States population voted for this administration and voted for these policies," said Pena.

Pena understands the anger of those who support undocumented immigrants, but she doesn’t understand the selective outrage by local leaders like Casar.

"Honestly, my message is to our Democrat elected officials, where is this outrage when we have children in East Austin stepping over needles to walk to school in the morning? Where is this outreach when we have families that are living in poverty that have applied to be delivery drivers, and they're put on wait lists and this person's not even a legal resident, and he gets that opportunity for income," said Pena.

What's next:

The congressional district Cesar represents, the 37th, includes portions of east Austin, Hays County and northern San Antonio. It’s considered a democrat-leaning district, despite being redrawn by state lawmakers last year. That was done as part of a bigger effort to help Republicans in north and south Texas. 

Pena is not giving Casar a free walk back to Capitol Hill and is not letting Cesar’s recent strong words go unchallenged. She is still calling for him to debate with her before the midterm voting starts.

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