White House border czar Tom Homan said Thursday ICE would keep operating and send more resources to sanctuary cities. The remarks came as ICE set detention and deportation records and use-of-force cases drew lawmakers’ attention.
In Austin, an ICE officer shot Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, on Sunday while he was in his vehicle making a DoorDash delivery. Perez was hospitalized and then released into ICE custody. DHS said he had entered the U.S. illegally and had a final removal order; his lawyer disputed the entry claim. Austin officials are investigating, and the AP reported the officer was not wearing a body camera.
In Grand Rapids, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered state police to investigate an ICE vehicle pursuit over the weekend that ended in a fatal collision. Mario David Coronado Juarez, a Guatemalan immigrant without permanent legal status, died after allegedly trying to flee an immigration agent’s traffic stop. Homan did not address either incident and attributed what he called “hate” toward ICE to media members.
