Migration: grand jury indicts ICE agent for running over a Mexican migrant with his patrol vehicle in Houston

Houston, Texas — A Harris County grand jury indicted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Mario Alberto Morales for running over Mexican migrant Miguel Parra Hernández, 48, with his patrol vehicle on October 10 in Houston, the county District Attorney's Office announced Friday.

The charge is second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — in this case, the vehicle the agent was driving — and Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said an arrest warrant for Morales was expected to be issued that same Friday.

According to the reports, Parra Hernández was trying to flee on foot after a pursuit when he was struck by an unmarked SUV. At first, the federal agency tried to justify the incident by saying the Mexican man had thrown himself in front of the vehicle, but surveillance video and the officer's own body-camera footage contradicted that account: the images show the agent sharply turning the wheel to run him over and drive over his legs, causing severe fractures.

Parra Hernández remains in ICE custody at a rehabilitation center, where he is recovering from serious injuries including multiple fractures, ABC reported. Two other migrants detained that same day were also in the vehicle that struck him, witnessed what happened and were later transferred to an immigration detention center outside Houston, according to the organization FIEL and Parra's attorney.

An ICE spokesperson called Friday's indictment a “political maneuver” and defended the agent, according to information cited by The Washington Post, a position that contrasts with the charges announced by prosecutors. The indictment now opens a court process in which the evidence, testimony and circumstances of the incident will be examined, along with Parra Hernández's medical recovery.

Photo: Archivo A Lo Claro

Source: La Chispa