Frontera Federation Statement on the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez
The Rule of Law Is Failing, and We Are All Paying the Price
The gunshots in Austin impacted more than a 28 year old delivery driver by the name of Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez. When an ICE agent shoots a working DoorDash driver in the street, leaves a bullet in his body, and then he cannot get the medical care he needs, we must admit one fact: the rule of law is not being observed, and Texas is becoming less safe because of it.
That old warning, "if they come for me in the daylight, they'll come for you in the night" was never just a figure of speech. When state power can pull the trigger on a man who is simply trying to make a living, with no independent oversight, and then move him from the hospital straight into detention without his family even knowing where he is, that power no longer belongs to the law. It belongs to fear itself. Today they shoot in the name of "immigration enforcement." Tomorrow that same logic can be turned against anyone defined as "suspicious."
The taxes we pay are being used to hire people who should never carry a gun. Congressional investigations show that DHS systematically lowered training standards during its massive hiring surge: the original 584 hours of basic training was compressed to 240 hours, and those with law enforcement backgrounds could qualify with as little as a four-week online course. One ICE instructor who blew the whistle said the training system was "broken, flawed, fragmented," and he even warned that "rogue shooters" would be recruited. In one fatal shooting in Maine, the ICE agent involved had a long history of domestic violence but was fast-tracked into hiring and deployed anyway. This is not an isolated failure. This is institutional negligence.
We Texans must send a clear demand to all our elected officials: stop providing cover for lawbreaking. Austin's mayor has already said it is "inappropriate" for ICE to investigate itself. Congressman Greg Casar has pointed out that ICE's accounts in past shootings were contradicted by video evidence. What we need is an independent, transparent investigation—not another internal case closed from the inside.
Every person in every community needs to speak up. Fear is devouring trust in our communities. When neighbors are afraid to leave their homes, afraid to let their children walk to school alone, afraid to call the police for help, crime only gains more room to operate. Silence will not protect us. It will only ensure that the next victim has no one to speak for them.
Business owners, you have a responsibility to speak up too. A DoorDash driver was shot while delivering food. This is not just an immigration issue—this is a risk facing everyone who makes a living in the gig economy. Fear keeps workers from showing up, keeps customers from going out, and makes normal business impossible to sustain. When the workforce lives in fear, the economic losses are borne by all Texans.
Do not wait until the bullet comes through your own front door. Call your representatives and demand a congressional investigation into DHS hiring and training. Show up at meetings of local government and support policies that limit local police from cooperating with ICE overreach. Tell your neighbors that you stand with them.
The meaning of the rule of law is that no matter who holds power, the rules apply to everyone equally. When the rules apply only to some people, it is no longer the rule of law; it is the prelude to tyranny.