Advocates fear potential witnesses handcuffed in back of ICE vehicle that hit Houston man could be deported

HOUSTON — Two handcuffed men were in the backseat of an ICE vehicle Saturday when it struck and injured Miguel Parra Hernandez as he fled on foot in Houston.

Defenders are fighting to ensure these men – now potential witnesses – are not deported.

At a news conference Wednesday, family members, lawyers and advocates identified one of the men as Luis Delfín Enríquez, 48.

Nidia Delfín, Delfín’s sister, said her brother was handcuffed in the backseat of the ICE vehicle when he struck Parra, adding that he was on his way to have breakfast with employees when he was apprehended by ICE. She said Delfin was not a criminal, had no warrant for his arrest and was in the process of getting his green card, meaning he was about to become a legal permanent resident.

“He owns his own small business. He hires people from the community. He’s a good man,” she said, adding that he witnessed “this horrible incident.”

She said she, her parents and her brother were afraid but were speaking out so Parra “could get justice.” She pleaded with other community members who witnessed the incident — she said she saw videos on social media — to do the same and share the information they have.

“What was done to him is not acceptable,” she said, referring to Parra. “This is not how we are supposed to treat other human beings.”

Cesar Espinosa of FIEL Houston, an immigrant civil rights organization that represents Parra’s family, said the men detained in the ICE vehicle “witnessed everything that happened,” including “the moment Mr. Miguel (Parra) was run over.”

Harris County Prosecutor Sean Teare told NBC News on Tuesday that videos collected by his office suggest Parra was struck intentionally. Teare said his office is seeking to interview witnesses as part of its investigation into the case.

“This is an intentional hit and run over of the person by the vehicle, and in this case it is an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas,” he said.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News on Tuesday that ICE agents at the scene were wearing body cameras and that the agency was reviewing the video for an internal investigation.

ICE said allegations that the agency intentionally struck Parra were “IMPRECULTATE and FALSE.”

Espinosa said if there is video from body cameras, it should be immediately forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.

A government watchdog report released Wednesday found that Customs and Border Protection and ICE have not developed specific operational guidelines to explain how their personnel should use body cameras.

Without this guidance, “CBP and ICE personnel will fail to use the cameras as required by policy,” the Government Accountability Office said in its report.

The Trump administration issued guidance two weeks ago stating that officers on the scene of vehicle stops must wear and activate their body cameras.

DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to questions about the release of the body camera video, whether they planned to deport witnesses to the incident and the status of the ICE officer who was driving the vehicle that struck Parra.

Security video of the incident obtained by Houston NBC affiliate KPRC shows a white truck heading in the opposite direction of traffic on a busy road. Parra and another man get out of the white truck and run, the video shows.

Around the same time, the video shows, another vehicle jumped a yellow median and headed toward Parra.

The video then shows the vehicle, unmarked, swerving left towards Chemin de Parra, in front of a truck stopped in a shopping center. When the parked truck drives away, a man can be seen lying on the sidewalk behind the ICE vehicle, the video shows.

Teare, a Democrat, told NBC News the investigation could lead to charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Espinosa said during the news conference that Parra did not feel safe at the hospital. The ICE agents who were there when he was struck “are the same ones who are monitoring him 24/7” at the hospital, Espinosa said. He did not know if the driver of the vehicle was one of Parra’s guards.

ICE did not immediately confirm whether the ICE agents involved in Saturday’s incident were with Parra at the hospital.

Espinosa, Parra’s attorney, Kim Bruno, and Parra’s family requested at the news conference that ICE keep Parra in the hospital where he is being treated for his multiple injuries.

Without proper medical care, he could end up with infections and other problems that could be life-threatening, “so we need him to get the best medical care possible,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa and Bruno said Parra has still not been processed by ICE, which said he is in the country illegally. Bruno and Espinosa confirmed that Parra was undocumented and said they could not provide further information about whether he was seeking other status.

Parra, who works applying stucco, has been in the country for 34 years and arrived when he was 14, Espinosa and Bruno said.

The man who was driving the truck with Parra and who also fled was identified at the news conference as “Omar.” He has no criminal record or open immigration warrants, Espinosa said.

At the press conference, advocates criticized ICE for pursuing Parra with the immigrants handcuffed in their car, putting everyone in danger, according to Espinosa.

Teare, who served for several years as chief of the prosecutor’s vehicular crimes division, also criticized ICE’s tactics.

“The behavior of this agency and these officers on our streets is very dangerous for everyone who lives in these communities,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

ICE did not immediately respond to allegations that it was conducting immigration screening while transporting immigrants it had previously apprehended.

ICE said in statements that it was pursuing a man it identified as Jose Mendoza Cervantes, who was in the country illegally and had committed several crimes. He said Parra was not his target.

Espinosa repeatedly held up a photo of Mendoza during the news conference and said no one, including Parra, recognized him or knew who he was. He also showed a photo of Omar, the man who was with Parra in the car before they fled, to show that it was not Mendoza.

“If he (Mendoza) exists, he must be taken into custody and a thorough and proper investigation must be conducted so that he can be examined,” Espinosa said.