After reports of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shooting an individual in Austin, Texas, Representative Greg Casar (D-TX) is demanding answers from the immigration enforcement agency.
On Sunday, the Austin American-Statesman was the first to report that one person had been injured in a shooting in North Austin at Anderson Square and was transported to a local hospital. Local reporting confirmed that an ICE agent was involved in the shooting and that the Austin Police Department was not.
The details of the shooting are not yet clear, but Rep. Casar is calling for an independent investigation and the release of body camera footage.
“As the facts emerge, I am demanding a full, independent investigation, immediate release of the body camera footage and accountability for any ICE officer who broke the law,” Rep. Casar said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
This comes a few months after another ICE-involved shooting made national news, when Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed in Houston, Texas, after federal officials said he resembled another man who was the intended target of an immigration enforcement operation. The investigation into the officer’s use of deadly force remains ongoing.
“Over and over, ICE has shot people and then lied about what happened,” Rep. Casar said. “We can see the lies with our own eyes.”
Rep. Casar highlighted past controversial ICE encounters, including when ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis in January.
“We will demand truth, transparency and accountability,” Rep. Casar said. “Just like Americans have from Minneapolis to Houston, Austinites will speak out peacefully against this deadly mass deportation machine.”
The Texas congressman has continued to be one of many Democrats critical of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration. However, in the last week, some Republicans like Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) publicly criticized the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts as well.
“ICE has been terrorizing our country for far too long,” Rep. Casar said. “We will not be silent.”
