ICE Agent Runs Over Man with SUV in Shocking Video

An ICE agent is facing felony charges after disturbing surveillance footage appeared to show him deliberately steering an SUV into a fleeing man in Houston, raising fresh questions about the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown.

But the criminal indictment is only part of the controversy. Investigators are also questioning why Immigration and Customs Enforcement claimed to be pursuing a wanted man whose family says he died nearly a decade ago.

Mario Alberto Morales, 33, was indicted Friday, October 30, by a Harris County grand jury on a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors accuse the federal officer of intentionally striking 48-year-old construction worker Miguel Parra Hernandez with an unmarked SUV during an October 10 immigration operation.

The collision left Parra Hernandez with serious leg injuries requiring multiple surgeries. Despite having no criminal record or active deportation order, according to local prosecutors, he remains in federal immigration custody while recovering at a rehabilitation facility.

The case took a dramatic turn when Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare publicly released surveillance and body-camera footage that he says directly contradicts ICE’s explanation of what happened.

The surveillance video shows Parra Hernandez and another man fleeing a pickup truck and running in different directions through a parking lot. Moments later, a black SUV appears to turn toward Parra Hernandez before striking him from behind.

Prosecutors allege Morales deliberately drove into the fleeing man and ran over both of his legs. Body-camera footage captures the officer acknowledging the collision shortly afterward.

“I was coming in, and I hit him with the car,” Morales is heard saying.

The footage stands in sharp contrast to ICE’s original account, which maintained that Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle and was accidentally struck.

Teare rejected that explanation, declaring that the evidence supported criminal charges against the officer.

“The evidence that we have in this case is as clear as any that I’ve prosecuted or investigated,” the district attorney said during Friday’s news conference.

If convicted, Morales could face between two and 20 years in prison. His attorney, David Lindenmuth, maintains the collision was accidental and has accused prosecutors of pursuing the case for political reasons. An arrest warrant was expected following the indictment.

Meanwhile, another troubling question has emerged from the October 10 operation: Was ICE pursuing a man who was already dead?

Federal immigration officials initially claimed agents were searching for Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, a man they described as having a criminal history and an outstanding deportation order. ICE alleged that he had been traveling in the same pickup truck as Parra Hernandez.

However, the Houston immigrant rights organization FIEL challenged that account after relatives reportedly identified the man pictured in ICE’s public statement as Jose Hector Jimenez, who died in 2017.

The organization said the man’s daughter recognized her father’s photograph and provided information about his death. A death certificate was also reportedly shared with The New York Times.

While questions remain about the different names associated with the photograph, the allegations have cast doubt on ICE’s explanation for the enforcement operation.

Parra Hernandez’s family and attorney have insisted he did not know the alleged target and was not traveling with him. Teare’s office has likewise said investigators found no evidence establishing that the two men were together.

ICE has not publicly resolved the discrepancy surrounding the wanted man’s identity.

The controversy has become even more contentious as local prosecutors accuse federal authorities of obstructing their investigation.

Teare previously said ICE removed Morales’ SUV before investigators could examine it and moved potential witnesses out of the area before they could be interviewed. He has also criticized the Department of Homeland Security for failing to cooperate with the investigation.

ICE has pushed back forcefully, calling the indictment a “political stunt” and insisting that allegations of an intentional collision are “reckless and false.”

The agency has also challenged the authority of local prosecutors to investigate federal officers acting in their official capacity. However, federal employment does not automatically shield an officer from state criminal prosecution, although such cases can face significant legal challenges.

The indictment arrives as President Donald Trump’s expanded immigration enforcement operations face growing scrutiny over the conduct of federal agents and the consequences for people caught up in immigration raids.

In Houston, the October incident is not the only enforcement operation under investigation. Authorities are also examining the July fatal shooting of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an immigration officer. Federal officials have defended that shooting as self-defense, an account disputed by other people who were present.

For Parra Hernandez, who prosecutors say has lived in the Houston area for more than three decades, the consequences of the October encounter remain immediate. He continues recovering from serious injuries while in ICE custody, even as the officer accused of running him over prepares to face criminal proceedings.

The case now presents a potentially significant test of whether local authorities can hold federal immigration officers criminally accountable for actions taken during enforcement operations.

And as questions persist over the identity of the man ICE claimed to be hunting, prosecutors are pressing ahead with a case that could bring even greater scrutiny to the agency’s conduct under Trump’s immigration policies.