Houston ICE officer charged with aggravated assault after striking construction worker
Prosecutors accuse Mario Alberto Morales of ramming his vehicle into Miguel Parra Hernandez, who was left with a broken leg during an October 10 operation.
By Carolina Wood ·
A federal immigration officer in Houston faces criminal charges for intentionally hitting a man with a car during a field operation.
Mario Alberto Morales, an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was charged on Friday with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Harris County District Attorney's office said Morales was driving an unmarked black Jeep Cherokee on October 10 when he struck Miguel Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old construction worker. Parra Hernandez was fleeing the vehicle when the collision occurred and was subsequently taken into custody with a broken leg.
District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat, brought the case in a county where few federal officers have faced criminal prosecution for their actions under the current administration's immigration enforcement strategy. Teare is also leading the investigation into a separate incident in July where an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican homebuilder. That shooting sparked widespread protests in the nation's fourth-largest city. Teare's office stated that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has not cooperated with investigators. The district attorney accused ICE of destroying evidence either intentionally or through gross negligence. He further noted that Morales fled the scene before the SUV could be impounded.
ICE officials previously disputed the account of an intentional strike, describing the officer's actions as a reaction to Parra Hernandez stepping in front of the car. The agency called accusations of intent false and reckless. Teare countered that surveillance footage contradicts the agency's narrative. The video shows the SUV crossing a median and approaching Parra Hernandez as he runs. Another vehicle blocks the view of the exact point of impact, but the SUV is seen inches from him before footage cuts to Parra Hernandez lying on the ground.
Questions have also emerged regarding the identity of the target for the October 10 operation. ICE identified the suspect as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes and said he was seen entering a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. Family members of Parra Hernandez said they had never heard of Mendoza-Cervantes. FIEL, an immigrant rights organization in Houston, stated that the identified man's daughter told them her father had died in 2017. The daughter also said his actual name was Jose Hector Jimenez. Teare's office said its investigation did not find evidence that Parra Hernandez and the identified suspect were ever in a vehicle together.
Parra Hernandez had lived in the United States for more than 30 years. According to FIEL, he was residing in the country without authorization. ICE has not responded to claims that the individual they were pursuing had been dead for nearly a decade.
In the July shooting case, DHS stated that Salgado Araujo weaponized his vehicle before an officer fired in self-defense. Passengers in the van disputed that version of events. Teare said DHS ignored requests for information following that incident. A witness to the July shooting was seen entering a grand jury area in September. Teare has not provided a timeline for completing that investigation.
