HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent appeared to intentionally drive a vehicle into a man in Houston, breaking his leg, a Texas prosecutor said, warning that an investigation by his office could result in criminal charges.
Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, underwent surgery on a broken leg after being hit by a car Saturday, said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston, an immigrant rights organization that is helping the man’s family.
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Parra Hernandez remains in ICE custody at a hospital and still requires ankle surgery, her attorney, Kim Bruno, said at a news conference Wednesday.
The encounter sparked fresh criticism of immigration enforcement in Houston, where local prosecutors are also investigating a fatal shooting in July by a federal immigration agent.
Harris County Prosecutor Sean Teare, a Democrat, expressed concern Tuesday over surveillance footage showing Parra Hernandez and another person jumping out of a white truck and running as a dark SUV pursued them. A vehicle hits Parra Hernández, who is seen on the ground a few seconds later.
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“The most obvious criminal charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” Teare told FOX 26 Houston. “Which means the car was used as a deadly weapon. And that’s certainly what appears to have happened, based on the surveillance footage.”
ICE denies intentionally hitting Parra Hernández
Allegations that officers intentionally struck Parra Hernandez are “reckless” and “false,” ICE said in a statement. Parra Hernández was in a vehicle targeted by a crackdown, and when officers attempted to stop the car, the two men fled on foot, the agency said.
He “ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck,” ICE said.
Espinosa flatly denied the claim during Wednesday’s press conference, citing surveillance video.
The footage shows a man running away from the white truck as a black SUV approaches him from behind. The video does not show the car hitting the man — that view is blocked by another vehicle — but it does show the SUV inches from the man before stopping. Afterwards, the man found himself on the ground behind the car.
Lawyers and relatives of others arrested by ICE during the operation Saturday denied at the news conference that the man ICE named as the target of its operation — José Mendoza-Cervantes — was even in the white van, saying they did not know anyone by that name.
Espinosa said Parra Hernandez is from Mexico and has lived in the United States for 34 years. He declined to share Parra Hernández’s status, but said he was living in the United States without authorization.
He said two ICE agents were in the room when he visited Parra Hernandez in the hospital.
“He already had surgery for the injury below the knee and now we are waiting for the swelling to go down in his ankle so we can have reconstructive surgery on the ankle,” Espinosa said.
He remained in ICE custody Wednesday, Espinosa said.
Prosecutors still investigating fatal ICE shooting in July
Teare said ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not cooperate with his office during his investigation.
In July, Teare said DHS also ignored his request for information after an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. The shooting was one of at least 10 deaths linked to contact with immigration officials since President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign began.
Wilder reported from Austin, Texas.
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