Overview
- A Harris County grand jury returned an indictment on October 30 charging ICE agent Mario Alberto Morales with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly running over Miguel Parra Hernández during an immigration operation.
- Prosecutors say business surveillance video shows the unmarked ICE SUV accelerating, crossing a divider and striking Parra from behind as he fled, and they say that footage forms the core of the criminal case.
- ICE rejects the allegation and maintains its agents did not intend harm, saying Parra ran in front of the vehicle and calling the charges politically motivated; Morales has been placed on administrative leave.
- Local prosecutors say DHS/ICE removed the involved SUV from the scene before local authorities could secure it and that investigators did not gain access to the vehicle until about October 23, a delay they say hindered their inquiry.
- Parra, a 48-year-old Mexican construction worker, suffered severe fractures to his right leg, ankle and hip and required multiple reconstructive surgeries, and the case has raised questions about the operation’s stated target and about accountability for federal agents.